Three office buildings in Bucharest are among the first in the Skanska portfolio, in the CEE region, which were registered to receive the WELL Health-Safety Rating certification. The newest International WELL Building Institute rating is awarded to high quality office spaces with top safety standards that reduce the risk of disease transmission and facilitate creating healthy and safe workplaces in the post-COVID reality.
The evaluation system takes into account the high quality of office space and the highest safety standards which have been set to reduce the transmission of high-risk diseases and to ensure a healthy and safe working environment.
The first Skanska projects to receive this certification in the upcoming months are 9 buildings in the CEE region: Equilibrium, Campus 6.2 and Campus 6.3 (România), Parkview (Czech Republic), Brama Miasta I and II, Spark B, Centrum Poludnie faze I and Wave A (Poland)
The new approach takes into account not only comfort but also the microbiological safety of users. It includes professional consulting for tenants and establishing various safety protocols and solutions to reduce the spread of coronavirus or other future viral outbreaks. It consists of measures and adjustments with regards to physical distancing – space planning consultations and requirements to ensure proper physical distancing, touch-free solutions, facility management sanitizing and disinfection plans, as well as office air quality management.
The next step and proof of creating safe workplaces are Skanska’s nine office buildings in the CEE region applying for the WELL Health-Safety Rating for Facility Operations and Management, granted by the International WELL Building Institute (IWBI)[1].
“The pandemic forced the world to adjust to these exceptional circumstances. The work environment and workplaces are crucial in ensuring health and safety. As a sustainable developer and an office real estate market leader that operates on 10 city markets in CEE, we feel obliged to create our offices as healthy as possible and set a new market direction. The safety and wellbeing of our employees, customers, partners, and communities are Skanska’s top priority. Creating the ‘Care for Life Office Concept’, and applying for the new WELL Health-Safety Rating are parts of this endeavor,” said Jacob Møller-Nielsen, EVP Center of Excellence at Skanska commercial development business in Central Eastern Europe.
Created and presented by IWBI, the WELL Health-Safety Rating is informed by guidance developed by the World Health Organization (WHO), U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), global disease control and prevention centers and emergency management agencies, recognized standard-making bodies, such as ASTM International and ASHRAE, and leading academic and research institutions.
IWBI has leveraged insights from its Task Force on COVID-19, established at the outset of the pandemic to help business and building leaders integrate actionable insights and proven strategies in the fight against COVID-19 and other respiratory infections.