NEW YORK—The International WELL Building Institute (IWBI) announced the launch of the WELL Equity Rating, a new rating designed to help organizations act on their diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility goals, and improve company culture and employee health. Over 30 leading organizations—including AvalonBay Communities, Canderel, Empire State Realty Trust, JLL, Overbury, Shaw Industries and the State University of New York (SUNY) College of Environmental Science and Forestry—have already enrolled in the rating, demonstrating their commitment to creating places where everyone has an equal opportunity to thrive.
By providing an evidence-based roadmap, the WELL Equity Rating empowers organizations to better address the needs of marginalized and underserved populations and take an action-oriented approach to creating equitable, people-first places. The rating includes more than 40 features spanning six action areas: user experience and feedback, responsible hiring and labor practices, health benefits and services, supportive programs and spaces, and community engagement. The rating validates an organization’s actions to advance health and well-being; celebrate diversity, equity, inclusion (DEI) and accessibility; and promote sensitivity while addressing disparities in populations that have been traditionally marginalized or underserved.
“Organizations worldwide are embracing the powerful role place can play in leveling the playing field and ensuring everyone feels welcome, seen and heard,” said Rachel Hodgdon, President and CEO, IWBI. “Many organizations have made commitments to DEI, but precious few have a roadmap for activation. The WELL Equity Rating is a transformative new offering that empowers organizations to make good on their promises—with evidence-based strategies and actions that improve and strengthen company culture, advance DEI goals and address disparities in underserved populations.”
Input from Many Over Two Years
For two years, IWBI has been collaborating with its Health Equity Advisory, learning from more than 200 participating expert Advisors from 26 countries. A prestigious group of more than 40 co-chairs led the Advisory, lending their knowledge and expertise in health equity, DEI, community building and belonging, and accessible design. The development process also included feedback and input from others with lived experience who represent the target populations prioritized by the rating. These include BIPOC (Black, Indigenous and other people of color), first-generation immigrants, LGBTQ+ individuals, primary caregivers and people who are physically disabled and/or neurodivergent.
“Equity and health go hand in hand. This rating is all about making equitable opportunity actionable, designing healthier places that are accessible to everyone, and delivering on the promise of a global culture of health and belonging,” said Kimberly Lewis, Executive Vice President of Equity, Engagement and Events, IWBI. “Because, as we know, equity is the very foundation to healthier, stronger and thriving organizations.”
Multiple studies show that employees in diverse and inclusive workplaces are more likely to innovate, enjoy their jobs, work harder, and ultimately stay with their employers for longer. Diverse organizations have also been found to be 1.32 times more productive and 21 percent more profitable than their peers. The WELL Equity Rating offers organizations a tangible path forward to help them follow through on their DEI commitments and transform how workplaces are designed, managed and operated to create environments where everyone can thrive and show up as their authentic selves.
An Addition to the Suite of IWBI Offerings
Equity is a core tenet of the WELL Building Standard; the majority of the features in the WELL Equity Rating were drawn from existing WELL strategies, each backed by research that demonstrates more equitable outcomes for one or more of the target populations. With the help of Health Equity and WELL Concept Advisories, IWBI also developed new beta features and parts to strengthen the new offering. This new designation will add to the suite of IWBI offerings that includes the WELL Health-Safety Rating and the WELL Performance Rating. Each rating can be earned as a stand-alone designation or milestone toward a place-based WELL Certification or an organization’s WELL Score.
“By driving accountability and action, the WELL Equity Rating will serve as an important tool to help organizations actualize their DEI commitments, live their values and effect lasting change,” said Dr. Angelita Scott, Director and Community Concept Lead at IWBI, who also served as principal architect of the rating. “We are so grateful to all our advisors and stakeholders from around the world with different backgrounds, expertise and lived experiences who supported this effort. It’s because of their vision, input and dedication that we were able to create a third-party verified solution that will uplift historically excluded voices, enhance ESG performance and improve organizational outcomes.”
In September, IWBI’s Governance Council, the leadership body tasked with upholding the integrity of WELL through rigorous standard development criteria, unanimously ratified the WELL Equity Rating. The Governance Council is made up of distinguished global thought leaders, doctors, public health professionals and business executives, such as Dr. Richard Carmona, the 17th U.S. Surgeon General; Cheryl Durst, President and CEO of the International Interior Design Association (IIDA); Dr. Yao Wang, Director General of the International Institute of Green Finance; Alison Omens, Chief Strategy Officer at Just Capital; Mona Naqvi, Global Head of ESG and Capital Markets Strategy at S&P Global; and Nancy Roman, President and CEO of Partnership for a Healthier America.
