FITWEL® CERTIFICATION

The Fitwel certification improves the health of the occupants and residents of different types of buildings, be they existing, new or developing properties, through the application of a mix of tailor-made and voluntary designed strategies with no standard prerequisites to be fulfilled.

Designed to be easy to implement and document, the Fitwel protocol allows you to choose and adopt the strategies that best suit different types of projects.

Fitwel was created by the Center for Disease Control and the US General Services Administration in 2017. The evaluation system is managed by the Center for Active Design (CfAD), a non-profit organisation based in New York City that issues Fitwel certification.

Who are the Fitwel Ambassadors?

Fitwel Ambassadors are qualified individuals who, starting from a preliminary environmental assessment of the areas, both external and internal to the site, develop the opportunities presented by the project, optimising and integrating Fitwel strategies in the best possible way.

The Greenwich Fitwel team consists of 3 Fitwel Ambassadors.

Fitwel protocols: what are they and how do they apply?

Fitwel protocols applicable to buildings emphasise interior design, ancillary spaces and building-to-site connectivity to enhance the impacts on the overall health of occupants.

Fitwel protocols are applicable to a wide range of types:

• Workplace:
• Multi-Tenant Base Building (MTBB)
• Multi-Tenant Whole Building (MTWB)
• Single-Tenant Building (ST)
• Commercial Interior Space (CI)
• Multifamily Residential (MFR)
• Retail (RT)

The Fitwel protocols applicable to sites (residential and commercial) mainly focus on the composition of outdoor spaces, connectivity, operations and maintenance procedures. These are as follows:

• Community (CM)
• Commercial Site (CS)

FITWEL® vs WELL®

Unlike WELL®, FITWEL® has no compulsory prerequisites to be met in order to access the certification levels and does not require a field inspection by the certification body. The Fitwel Rating System

Fitwel approaches health holistically as an interconnected system, with no single

dominant category or area of interest.

The Fitwel Rating Systems are divided into 12 families:

1. Location
2. Building Access
3. Outdoor Spaces
4. Entrances and Ground Floor
5. Stairs
6. Indoor Environment
7. Workspaces
8. Shared Spaces
9. Water Supply
10. Prepared Food Areas
11. Vending Machines and Snack Bars
12. Emergency Preparedness

All Fitwel strategies impact on at least 1 of the following seven categories:

1. Increasing physical activity
2. Promoting occupant safety
3. Reducing morbidity and absenteeism
4. Supporting social equity for vulnerable populations
5. Infusing feelings of well-being
6. Impacting on community health
7. Improving access to healthy food

How do I obtain the Fitwel certification?

The FITWEL certification process consists of 6 steps:

• REGISTER. Registration of the project on the Fitwel portal
• ASSESS. Selection and implementation of appropriate Fitwel strategies for the project
• BENCHMARK. Archiving project documentation
• SUBMIT. Uploading of all required documentation to the portal in order to demonstrate compliance with Fitwel strategies
• INITIAL REVIEW. Responding to comments from Fitwel auditors
• CERTIFICATION. The project is assigned a numerical score and associated stars.

There are 3 levels of Fitwel certification:

1. Fitwel 1-Star rating: 90 – 104 points
2. Fitwel 2-Star rating: 105- 124 points

• Fitwel 3-Star rating: 125-144 points

There are more than 430 certified Fitwel projects worldwide in over 40 countries. In Italy, the market is still evolving, although driven by increasing attention to health and well-being issues.