WELL Certification to measure well-being of real estate comes to Finland

Granlund has Finland's first WELL assessor

The WELL Building Standard™ is a new system for certifying buildings, taking into account the well-being of building occupants. WELL expands the environmental certification of buildings to include measurements of the effects of real estate on well-being, as the comfort of building occupants is considered to have a direct impact on health and, thereby, also on productivity.

WELL has entered Finland from the United States, where the method has been used to certify buildings since 2016. ”The well-being of real estate occupants will gain in importance for real estate owners, as the comfort of indoor premises will increasingly affect the attractiveness of buildings,” says Heli Kotilainen, Granlund Consulting Oy’s Director of Sustainability.

WELL Certification will not replace the established environmental classification systems used in the real estate sector, such as the LEED and BREEAM standards. Instead, it will expand on these to analyse buildings from a human perspective. The classification is based on seven categories: air, water, light, mind, nourishment, fitness and comfort. ”Buildings are evaluated using a hundred criteria and the aim is to improve the health and comfort of real estate occupants, thereby also boosting their performance,” says Finland’s first qualified WELL AP, Robert McGrath, a Senior Consultant at Granlund Consulting Oy.

Granlund Oy’s headquarters in Malmi, Helsinki, is also Finland’s first registered WELL project. ”We aim to have a comfortable setting for our personnel to work in, and we are using this in addition to functional building services as a means of promoting well-being,” says Granlund’s CEO, Pekka Metsi. Granlund has invested in new multi-purpose office spaces, a green plan has been prepared for the office, and fresh fruit is offered to everyone. Employees can receive subsidies for using public transport and company bicycles can be purchased. The personnel also have their own exercise sessions and we take part in annual running and cycling campaigns.

Further information

Heli Kotilainen, Director, Granlund Consulting Oy
tel. +358 40 579 3611
firstname.lastname@granlund.fi

Robert McGrath, Senior Consultant, Granlund Consulting Oy
tel. +358 50 315 2433
firstname.lastname@granlund.fi

Pekka Metsi, CEO, Granlund Oy
tel. +358 50 525 2551
firstname.lastname@granlund.fi