Achieve an accredited building certification for buildings on-site

Rationale: Buildings that have achieved a third-party healthy building certification are confirmed to support access to a health-promoting environment that foster mental, physical, and social well-being.

Requirements

Demonstrate compliance with one of the options below:

Option 1 - Building Certification 50% Square Footage (Full Credit):

To achieve full credit, demonstrate compliance with all the following requirements:

1. Certify a minimum of 50% of the total qualifying built square footage within the project boundary by an accredited certification system that demonstrates an impact on a minimum of five of the following:

• neighboring community health, such as building location, ground floor design, or public spaces
• occupant physical activity, such as stair design, outdoor spaces, or walkable spaces
• occupant mental health, such as restorative spaces, access to nature, or indoor air quality
• occupant safety, such as emergency preparedness, lighting, or pedestrian-friendly infrastructure
• occupant access to healthy food, such as farmer’s markets, or water supplies
• social equity, such as transit subsidies, pricing incentives, or universal design
• sustainability practices, such as operational policies, or performance monitoring.

Qualifying built square footage is the square footage of all built up spaces that are occupied by occupants within the project including:

• commercial buildings
• retail spaces or buildings
• residential buildings.

Note that buildings that do not include occupants within the project may be excluded from the calculation of qualifying built square footage for this strategy. Accredited certification must not be expired at the time of Fitwel certification.

Qualifying certifications include but are not limited to:
– LEED
– BOMA
– BREEAM

2. Ensure that the accredited certification system uses a third-party certifier.

Option 2 - Building Certification 25% Square Footage (Partial Credit):

The project may achieve partial credit by demonstrating compliance with the following requirements:

1. Certify a minimum of 25% of the total qualifying built square footage within the project boundary by an accredited certification system that demonstrates an impact on a minimum of five of the following:

• neighboring community health, such as building location, ground floor design, or public spaces
• occupant physical activity, such as stair design, outdoor spaces, or walkable spaces
• occupant mental health, such as restorative spaces, access to nature, or indoor air quality
• occupant safety, such as emergency preparedness, lighting, or pedestrian-friendly infrastructure
• occupant access to healthy food, such as farmer’s markets, or water supplies
• social equity, such as transit subsidies, pricing incentives, or universal design
• sustainability practices, such as operational policies, or performance monitoring.

Qualifying built square footage is the square footage of all built up spaces that are occupied by occupants within the project including:

• commercial buildings
• retail spaces or buildings
• residential buildings.

Note that buildings that do not include occupants within the project may be excluded from the calculation of qualifying built square footage for this strategy. Accredited certification must not be expired at the time of Fitwel certification.

Qualifying certifications include but are not limited to:
– LEED
– BOMA
– BREEAM

2. Ensure that the accredited certification system uses a third-party certifier.

Compliance Documentation

Types of compliance documentation required:

• Certified statements
• Calculation