The newly released version 3 (v3) of Fitwel’s evidence-based standard brings new strategies on how to future-proof buildings for climate adaptation, while more efficiently addressing the health of real estate assets and maximizing their value.
The Center for Active Design (CfAD) announced v3 this week. The enhanced version incorporates new public health research, market trends and industry feedback, while building on the success of the previous version, v2.1, which launched in 2018.
Fitwel’s v3 also introduces the Smart Scorecard, a simplified digital experience, introducing smarter scorecard interactions that reduce documentation time.
Overall, there are now eight distinct scorecards and 140 evidence-based strategies rooted in more than 7,000 peer-reviewed studies that link health and the built environment and also prepare assets for the rising risks of climate change.
The scorecards were improved through extensive user consultation to boost health-promoting strategies for multi-tenant commercial buildings. V3 also brings consistent strategy requirements across all products, streamlining implementation and reducing costs for users managing diverse asset portfolios.
“Version 3 meets the rising demand for healthy, high-quality assets while mitigating climate risks, promoting value, and streamlining certification for efficiency,” said Joanna Frank, Fitwel’s president and CEO. “Today we can definitively show that health, encompassed in the social pillar of ESG, is one of the greatest opportunities to future-proof assets. The updated Standard and improvements to the data-driven Fitwel Platform are designed to help real estate capitalize on these opportunities.”
Fitwel v3 also brings a new generation of technology to deliver credible data that is in high demand across the industry. “Integrating health considerations into project planning not only enhances a project’s marketability and long-term viability but also empowers users to make informed, data-driven decisions that optimize both health outcomes and financial returns,” said Zachary Flora, Fitwel’s executive vice president of market growth.
In addition to updating its strategy library to include timely climate adaptation-related strategies, Fitwel recently announced plans for a new product–Social Performance–to substantiate ‘S’ data for real estate. This addresses the growing demand from investors and forthcoming regulations for a rigorous, standardized approach to integrate
Social metrics, including health and wellbeing measures, into ESG reporting. When used together, Social Performance and asset certifications, including those from v3, will provide the industry with a method for evaluating the social performance of 100 per cent of buildings.
To date, more than 2.5 billion square feet of real estate across the globe has been assessed using Fitwel, equating to almost 1 million square feet of space per day since the standard first launched in 2016.
