NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The International WELL Building Institute (IWBI) today announced that leading privately owned developer, manager, and investor of real assets RMZ is the first organization globally to achieve the WELL Health-Safety Rating for Facility Operations and Management at 41 properties across India. RMZ’s achievement to successfully implement the new rating requirements builds on the more than 100 organizations, encompassing over 500 facilities, that have responded swiftly to enroll in the documentation-based program and implement its science-backed guidance as they seek to instill confidence and trust among their staff, customers, stakeholders and their broader communities.
The WELL Health-Safety Rating is an evidence-based, third-party verified rating for all new and existing building and space types focused on operational policies, maintenance protocols, emergency plans and stakeholder engagement strategies to help organizations prepare their spaces for re-entry in a post COVID-19 environment.
“The COVID-19 pandemic has underscored to companies in every sector how critically important it is to be prepared for a crisis. RMZ has demonstrated outstanding leadership by taking purposeful steps forward to help ensure the health and safety of their staff and visitors as they return to the workplace at dozens of buildings,” said Rick Fedrizzi, IWBI chairman and CEO. “At IWBI, we are proud to celebrate this achievement with RMZ as they lead the way toward a healthy, resilient recovery and help drive transformative action in India and globally.”
Adapted from features in the WELL Building Standard (WELL) that focus on facilities, maintenance and operations, the WELL Health-Safety Rating is designed to guide and empower the actions of large and small businesses alike in taking the necessary steps to prioritize the health and safety of their staff, visitors and stakeholders. It also serves as an annual process that supports efforts to promote the long-term health and safety of people.
“RMZ’s leading efforts to earn the WELL Health-Safety Rating highlight the critical role that buildings, and those that own and operate them, can play in supporting people’s health, safety and well-being,” said IWBI President Rachel Gutter. “This new rating aims to meet the urgent need to deliver high health and safety standards in all of the spaces we occupy. While longer term design strategies are important in reducing the risks of infectious disease spread, this rating focuses on strategies that can be implemented immediately to address acute threats, using our buildings and spaces as a first line of defense in the fight against COVID-19.”
RMZ achieved the rating by implementing features across five categories, including cleaning and sanitization procedures; emergency preparedness programmes that include plans for both staff and visitors as well as plans for re-entry after an emergency event; health service resources such as providing access to sick leave and mental health recovery; air and water quality management; and stakeholder engagement and communications resources to promote health and wellness. As part of these efforts, RMZ buildings feature touchless elevators and touchless water and hand sanitizer dispensers, and they implemented rigorous cleaning protocols and increased cleaning frequency.
Thirumal Govindraj, Managing Director Executive Board, RMZ Corp, said, “We are proud to share that RMZ Corp is the first company globally to achieve the WELL Health-Safety Rating for Facility Operations and Management through the International WELL Building Institute (IWBI). We are sure that the validation of our policies, procedures and protocols from an organization like IWBI will enhance member confidence while returning to work during these challenging times.”
Created 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.
Owners, operators and tenants can pursue the WELL Health-Safety Rating for projects independently, seamlessly using the rating as a stepping stone to achievement of WELL Certification, or integrate the rating as a milestone within their WELL Certification or WELL Portfolio journey.
Govindraj continued, “RMZ is committed to the safety and wellness of its members, more so after the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. We were so very excited about the WELL Health-Safety Rating that on the day of launch we committed an office portfolio of 17 million square feet under this rating system. We are hoping to reinforce our relationship beyond our existing association as the leading portfolio partner for WELL buildings from India.”
RMZ was supported through the WELL Health-Safety Rating process by an experienced consulting team, led by En3 Sustainability Solutions, that is dedicated to advancing health, well-being and sustainability.
“As thought leaders in real estate development, RMZ Corp has holistically embraced and adapted health and wellness best practices in several of their existing and new assets. As a wellness partner, the En3 team is happy to have supported RMZ Corp to implement these critical requirements to become the first organization in the world to achieve the WELL Health-Safety Rating. Based on years of research, the evidence-based WELL Health-Safety Rating provides the much needed practical framework for implementing operations and management policies, protocols and design strategies,” said Deepa Sathiaram, Executive Director, En3 Sustainability Solutions.
To learn more about the WELL Health-Safety Rating, visit https://www.wellcertified.com/health-safety.
About the International WELL Building Institute
The International WELL Building Institute (IWBI) is leading the global movement to transform our buildings, communities and organizations in ways that help people thrive. WELL v2 is the most recent version of its popular WELL Building Standard (WELL), and the WELL Community Standard pilot is a district scale rating system that sets a new global benchmark for healthy communities. WELL is focused exclusively on the ways that buildings and communities, and everything in them, can improve our comfort, drive better choices, and generally enhance, not compromise, our health and wellness. IWBI mobilizes the wellness community through management of the WELL AP credential, the pursuit of applicable research, the development of educational resources, and advocacy for policies that promote health and wellness everywhere. IWBI is a participant of the United Nations Global Compact, the world’s largest corporate citizenship initiative, and helps companies advance the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through the use of WELL. More information on WELL can be found here.
About RMZ Corp
RMZ Corp is a privately-owned developer, manager, and investor of real assets. Seventeen years old and growing rapidly, they have over 250 enterprise customers in 6 Indian cities and 85M sqft of real assets under ownership. With a singular vision to build one million member community, RMZ disrupts how people view the space they work in. Our dynamic ecosystem caters to a tech-fuelled lifestyle that nurtures the social wellbeing of our communities, thereby enhancing human experiences. Our communal spaces reflect interconnected environments that cultivate social connections and discovery in every detail of the ecosystem. RMZ Corp’s experience and proprietary research delivers bold insights that help our clients grow, sustain, transcend, and transform. This makes it possible for us to attract and retain the best global corporations. RMZ Corp is the first company from India to achieve the IWBI WELL Health-Safety Rating, based on its response to the pandemic and innovative measures adopted to ensure a safe return to work for its member community. For more information visit http://www.rmzcorp.com/.
International WELL Building Institute, IWBI, the WELL Building Standard, WELL v2, WELL Certified, WELL AP, WELL Portfolio, WELL Portfolio Score, The WELL Conference, We Are WELL, the WELL Community Standard, WELL Health-Safety Rating, WELL Health-Safety Rated, WELL Workforce, WELL and others, and their related logos are trademarks or certification marks of International WELL Building Institute pbc in the United States and other countries.
