Everything You Need to Know About Fitwel Certification
Key Takeaways:
Designed by the CDC and GSA, Fitwel specializes in occupant safety certification.
Developed as a pandemic response, Fitwel’s Viral Response Module helps building owners mitigate the spread of disease.
Originally created by the U.S. Center For Disease Control (CDC) and the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) which operates federal buildings, Fitwel has grown into a successful commercial building certification operated by the Center for Active Design, a global nonprofit partnered with the CDC. Based on expert recommendations from 5,600 academic studies, Fitwel seeks to measure building health and productivity.
Fitwel Basics
From the outset Fitwel was designed to be used for entire portfolios, giving scorecards for existing and new buildings and providing ways to optimize every project no matter the scale. Fitwel scorecards are based on more than 55 evidence-based design and operational enhancements that impact seven health categories; impacting surrounding community health, reducing morbidity and absenteeism, supporting social equity, instilling feelings of well-being, enhancing access to healthy food, promoting occupant safety, and increasing physical activity.
Fitwel certifies buildings from one to three stars based on the metrics. Fitwel registrations cost $500, with certification fees based on building size, the largest topping out at $10,000. Recertification, required every three years, will cost another $500 plus 80% of the original certification rate. Two independent assessors conduct separate analyses to determine Fitwel scoring.
Pandemic Mitigation Certification
To capitalize on COVID-19 concern, Fitwel launched its Viral Response Module to help building owners mitigate the spread of the disease. After owners or building managers formulate a viral mitigation policy, they can apply for enterprise-level certification before they begin implementing the policies. Once the policies have been proven to be implemented, the asset secures its own certification.
Unlike a standard Fitwel certification, which has no minimums for certification, Fitwel’s Viral Response Module has certain minimums policies that must be in place to be considered. Regulations will run $500, then an additional $4,5000 for the enterprise-level certification. From there, each asset in a portfolio can be certified for $200 per building.
Fitwel offers building owners certification pathways for existing and new buildings. Based on comprehensive analysis, Fitwel has certified 2,100 projects representing more than 675 million square feet of real estate. Fitwel’s Viral Response Module recently passed 3 million square feet of certifications. Like other certifications, Fitwel is leaning into employers’ commitment to health and well-being, a national trend before COVID-19 that has only risen in prominence.
