CBRE Global Investors has achieved a WELL Portfolio Score of 43 for its CBRE Dutch Office Fund, making it the first real estate investment fund in Europe to earn a score for implementing health and well-being strategies through a portfolio-wide approach. Additionally, three assets in the fund – NoMA House, Amsterdam; WTC Utrecht, Utrecht; and Delftse Poort, Rotterdam – attained a WELL Core Certification at Gold level, the second highest score possible.

Both the WELL Portfolio Score and WELL Core Certification are awarded by the International WELL Building Institute (IWBI). IWBI develops and administers the WELL Building Standard (WELL) and, through its third-party certification body, assesses office portfolios and office properties in the area of health and wellbeing, an increasingly essential aspect since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.

All properties that are part of the Dutch Office Fund portfolio have been assessed on the basis of the 10 WELL concepts: air, water, nourishment, light, movement, thermal comfort, sound, materials, mind and community. In addition, all properties underwent rigorous performance testing and a final evaluation.

Ronald van der Waals, Fund Manager of the CBRE Dutch Office Fund: “Our ambition is to create and operate future-proof office buildings where the business of today and of the future can thrive. We were forerunners to acknowledge that a healthy workplace is of key importance for its users and it will be an increasingly important consideration in the decision for a new working environment. This has been accelerated because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The WELL Portfolio Score and WELL Certifications show the high standards in health and wellbeing of our office properties while at the same time providing us with improved insight in the improvement areas.”  

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Furthermore in 2021 we will continue to pursue the WELL Core Certification for the other office buildings in the portfolio: WTC Amsterdam, WTC Schiphol, UP office building and Nieuw Amsterdam. By year end the majority of the assets – c. 90% –  in the CBRE Dutch Office Fund will be certified. It is the fund’s ambition to certify all multi-tenant properties in the portfolio.

Backed by the latest medical scientific research, IWBI is a public benefit corporation focused on deploying people first office buildings throughout the world that advance a culture of health and wellbeing of office occupiers. In this process of WELL Certification, CBRE Global Investors was advised by CBRE.

The three assets with a WELL Core Certification at Gold level. Left to right: NoMA House, Amsterdam; Delftse Poort, Rotterdam; and WTC Utrecht, Utrecht. 

Source: CBRE Investment Management