BentallGreenOak Adds to its World-Class ESG Program by Achieving Fitwel® Viral Response Certification

With Fitwel’s impactful 3rd party Viral Response Certification, BentallGreenOak is upgrading building operations and HR policies—effectively responding to COVID-19 and building trust among their occupants

As the COVID-19 pandemic took hold in March, Center for Active Design (CfAD) announced its commitment to develop the premier evidence-based third-party certification for companies seeking guidance and recognition in upgrading their policies and practices to mitigate viral transmission. CfAD collaborated with global health experts and trusted industry advisors to rapidly prototype the VR module and set the gold standard for mitigating contagious diseases in buildings using the best scientific evidence available. The module establishes minimum standards and provides turn key strategies that building management and HR teams can implement in order to optimize indoor environments, encourage behavior change and build trust among occupants.

Today’s announcement of BentallGreenOak’s successful certification underscores the rapid uptake and widespread impact of Fitwel’s VR module.

“The investment manager of the future must be able to demonstrate a systems-wide readiness to address the threat of contagious disease, today.” Amy Price, BentallGreenOak

“Our clients, investors and tenants are living through the turbulence of this pandemic, and our firm understands the fiduciary responsibility we bear to integrate resilience, preparedness, and risk mitigation directly in to the real estate assets that we manage on their behalf,” said Amy Price, Managing Partner and Co-Head of US, BentallGreenOak. “The investment manager of the future must be able to demonstrate a systems-wide readiness to address the threat of contagious disease, today. Through this entity-level certification, BentallGreenOak is further investing in its commitment to ESG by fostering an approach across our US office portfolio that prioritizes health and safety.”

Fitwel’s two-step VR module certification process enables companies the flexibility to establish and implement viral response policies at scale. Users can establish policies to cover any portfolio, selection of assets or individual tenant spaces that have consistent operational practices, then submit to have their policies certified by CfAD in a six-week, double-blind review process. Once the certified strategies policies and practices are implemented at the asset level, companies can submit to CfAD for asset-level approval. This step verifies that the strategies have been put into practice, at which point asset(s) are eligible to install a Viral Response decal and CfAD recognizes this achievement with a plaque that companies can use to convey to occupants that their building is optimized to mitigate the spread of infectious respiratory diseases.

Joanna Frank, President and CEO of CfAD, said, “The bottom line is residents and employees want to know that they can trust that the spaces where they spend the majority of their time have been optimized for their health. The VR module was created with this in mind and serves as a practical and cost-effective solution for real estate companies to roll out effective viral mitigation strategies at scale. The pandemic has created significant challenges across the world, but it has also made clear how our environments impact our well-being. We’re pleased to see the real estate industry rise to the challenge presented by COVID-19 to further advance the healthy building movement.”

Unlike other solutions that provide more generalized approaches to viral mitigation, Fitwel's VR module has established specific best practices for companies to follow by setting minimum requirements that are necessary to mitigate viral transmission, while providing turnkey policies to ensure an efficient and consistent approach to guide the industry. The module also creates economies of scale, making it affordable to roll out an effective viral response across entire portfolios. For more information on the Viral Response module, click here.