In a significant step towards creating better workplaces, Charter Hall Group (Charter Hall or Group) has become one of the first organisations globally to achieve a WELL Portfolio Score from the International WELL Building Institute (IWBI).

A powerful mechanism to guide organisations to apply the WELL Building Standard (WELL) across all assets in their defined portfolios, the WELL Portfolio program enables organisations to streamline and scale their health strategies.

Charter Hall’s Chief Experience Officer, Ms Natalie Devlin, said “Charter Hall is extremely pleased to achieve this accolade from the IWBI and it marks a major milestone in our leadership in advancing health and wellness in our office portfolio.

“In the current COVID-19 environment people’s wellbeing is more important than ever. We know workplaces play a fundamental role in fostering social engagement, providing safety and comfort, and creating healthy and sustainable communities.

“This not only impacts individual wellbeing, but the culture of an organisation. What’s driving our work with WELL is our purpose – to create better futures – supporting our people, customers and communities at large.

“This can have a tangible impact on the bottom line. Today’s successful businesses must put sustainability and wellness at the heart of their actions. By balancing these, both people and planet can thrive” said Ms Devlin.

The WELL Building Standard is a vehicle for buildings and organisations to deliver more thoughtful and intentional spaces that enhance human health and well-being by way of 10 WELL Concepts – Air, Water, Nourishment, Lighting, Movement, Thermal Comfort, Sound, Material, Mind and Community.

Charter Hall received a WELL Portfolio Score for three portfolios: Charter Hall workplaces, Charter Hall Office Trust (CHOT) and Charter Hall Prime Office Fund (CPOF). Together, the portfolios consist of 996,294 square metres of real estate.

Charter Hall’s Office CEO, Ms Carmel Hourigan, said “Charter Hall continues to be at the forefront of innovation in the movement to deliver better buildings that support health and sustainability. We’ve implemented advanced technologies and wellness strategies that prioritise safety and support new ways of using and moving around each space.

“Smart technology is now standard in our building designs. This gives tenant customers the ability to control climate, sound and air quality, all through a simple mobile phone app; as well as provide contactless technology at our entries, photocopiers and lockers, as we put COVID-safe design at the forefront of our buildings.

“Increasingly more investors realise that social and environmental factors have an impact on the value of property, and there is growing interest in more sustainable, healthy buildings. For us, therefore, our portfolios must deliver social and environmental value, in addition to enhanced risk-adjusted financial returns” said Ms Hourigan.

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As an IWBI member company, Charter Hall is part of a network of organisations that are on the leading edge of the movement to improve global health. The alignment of workplaces and buildings to the WELL Portfolio signals the importance placed on the wellbeing of its people and customers.

IWBI President and CEO Ms Rachel Hodgdon, said “By design, the WELL Portfolio program collaborates with organisations that are on the leading edge of the movement to advance health and well-being at scale.

“We are so pleased to see the program’s scalable nature effectively supports Charter Hall’s vision to evolve its culture of health by transforming portfolio-wide assets through health and well-being strategies that benefit 40,000 people” said Ms Hodgdon.

The WELL Portfolio program aligns with leading green building rating systems and recognises projects that balance a commitment to environmental sustainability and human health. In keeping with that, Charter Hall continues to implement energy efficiency and renewable energy solutions across its portfolio, and recently signed the World Green Building Council Net Zero Carbon Buildings Commitment – a leading initiative focused on climate action in the built environment – as it works to achieve Scope 1 and 2 net zero emissions by 2030.

To find out more about its sustainability initiatives, visit the Charter Hall website.

Source: Charter Hall