Fitwel Certification: A Guide to Boosting Workplace Wellness for a Healthier future
Healthy building certification fitwel accreditation
In the evolving landscape of modern workplaces, there is growing recognition of the role that building design plays in supporting the health and well-being of occupants.
Fitwel, a third-party building certification system, has emerged as a leading standard for assessing and improving health in the built environment.
At Biofilico, as Healthy Building Consultants certified in Fitwel, we aim to shed light on how this certification can make a transformative impact in workplaces.
We have used this tool with our FMCG client Bolton Group in Italy for example, as a way to structure their workplace wellness playbook.
What is Fitwel Certification and the healthy building movement?
Fitwel certification was developed by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in collaboration with the General Services Administration (GSA) with the goal of improving the holistic health of building occupants.
It is a third-party verification system that rates spaces across 12 categories, including the indoor environment, physical activity promotion, emergency preparedness, social spaces, and more.
Promoting building health through design and operations
The main focus of Fitwel is to promote health and well-being through impactful design, operational policies, and workplace culture enhancements.
By improving the quality of the spaces in which people spend most of their time, Fitwel certification aims to create healthier, happier, and more productive environments for building users.
Benefits and Process of Fitwel accreditation for real estate assets
Achieving Fitwel offers numerous benefits to organizations and building owners, demonstrating a tangible commitment to occupant health and well-being.
It provides a clear, structured pathway to elevate building performance through straightforward and actionable design, policy, and operational strategies.
Here are some key advantages and how the process works:
Enhanced Occupant Well-being: By implementing strategies to improve air quality, increase access to natural light, promote physical activity, and more, organizations create an environment that supports the physical and mental well-being of their employees.
Straightforward Certification Process: it provides a flexible framework for improving buildings, making it easy for developers, facility managers, and architects to pursue certification. Fitwel’s flexible scorecards provide clear goals to improve health outcomes, empowering designers to creatively implement these strategies in ways that best suit a building’s unique needs.
Strategic Prioritization of Health: it places well-being as a key strategic priority for organizations. By focusing on areas such as workplace ergonomics, physical activity, community support, and emergency preparedness, companies can address the broad spectrum of factors that influence occupant health.
Fitwel Cert Levels
The system is structured into three levels, with scores assigned based on a building's incorporation of health-promoting strategies across various categories:
1 Star (90-104 points): This level verifies foundational policies, programs, and design considerations that are in place to encourage positive health behaviors and outcomes.
2 Stars (105-124 points): This level reflects an enhanced commitment to active design and workplace wellness, indicating moderate but impactful health strategies.
3 Stars (125-144 points): Achieving three stars denotes a sector leader in health, showcasing a comprehensive integration of physical, mental, and social well-being strategies throughout the building.
This tiered system allows organizations to achieve different levels of recognition, depending on their efforts to improve workplace wellness and the number of points accumulated.
Building Design and Fitwel for building health and wellbeing
The Fitwel system encourages a wide range of design interventions to foster health and wellness. A building’s design plays a critical role in enhancing the physical, mental, and social well-being of its occupants. Several key design considerations evaluated during Fitwel certification include:
Stairwell Design and Accessibility: Promoting physical activity is a key component of Fitwel. Thoughtfully designed stairwells that are easily accessible and aesthetically pleasing can encourage employees to choose stairs over elevators, supporting daily exercise goals.
Outdoor Spaces: Access to outdoor spaces or gardens can enhance employee well-being, provide a change of scenery, and foster a stronger connection to nature, reducing stress levels and improving mood.
Indoor Environment: Air and water quality are evaluated as part of the certification. Ensuring clean air and providing access to filtered water are key aspects of supporting occupant health.
Food and Amenities: The availability of healthy food options in prepared food areas, nutritious snacks in vending machines, contributes to a more holistic human health strategy and is one of many recognized healthy building practices.
Evaluating the Effectiveness of Fitwel Certification
Fitwel certification is not only an effective means of improving the human health of occupants but also has substantial benefits for businesses in terms of employee performance and retention.
Studies have shown that work environments that support health and wellbeing help reduce absenteeism, boost productivity, and increase overall employee satisfaction.
Fitwel also guides organizations in identifying areas for improvement and assists in developing targeted strategies to address these challenges, fostering a more vibrant, engaged, and motivated workforce.
From a real estate perspective, this is a valuable asset that enhances building value, perhaps not on the same level as a LEED or BREEAM Green Building certification, or indeed WELL certification but valuable nonetheless.
Comparison to Other Certification Systems
Fitwel is one of several healthy building certification systems, but it has unique qualities that make it an attractive option.
Unlike systems like WELL or LEED, which can be complex and require substantial investment, Fitwel focuses on accessible, practical, and materials-based strategies that are often easier to implement and more affordable.
Its cost-effectiveness and practicality make it particularly appealing for projects that want to make impactful improvements without the resource intensity required by some other certifications.
While WELL has a detailed approach that covers aspects like nutrition, fitness, comfort, and mind, Fitwel takes a more straightforward approach, providing value through practical design and policies.
LEED, primarily focused on environmental sustainability, complements Fitwel’s health-oriented objectives by ensuring that the building’s overall environmental impact is also taken into account.
These certifications can sometimes be pursued in tandem to create a fully sustainable and health-supportive environment.
Implementation and Maintenance
Fitwel’s accreditation process is designed to be straightforward and achievable within 12 to 16 weeks. Certification remains valid for three years, and organizations must undergo recertification afterward to maintain their status.
The recertification process ensures that standards are being upheld and that the building continues to operate in alignment with the principles set forth during the initial certification.
Maintaining a Fitwel-certified status involves the ongoing evaluation of building policies, programs, and operations.
Regularly revisiting and updating strategies in areas like indoor air quality, social well-being, and physical activity promotion ensures the building remains aligned with the certification’s standards and keeps evolving to meet new health challenges.
Future of Fitwel Certification
As awareness of building health and wellness continues to grow, the demand for such certifications is expected to increase. The focus on employee health as a core part of corporate social responsibility and DEI has placed Fitwel in the spotlight as a key tool for the creation of healthier workplaces.
Conclusion
In an era where workplace wellness is of paramount importance, Fitwel certification is a worthy investment for organizations looking to prioritize health, enhance their brand, and create thriving, health-forward workspaces.
At Biofilico, we advocate for certifications like Fitwel, which align with our mission to design spaces that foster well-being and sustainability—making the world a healthier place, one building at a time.
Carlo Battisti - a vision for biophilic architecture and interiors in regenerative real estate
Here we discuss the the connection to nature between biophilic design, beauty and wellbeing from the perspective of the International Living Future Institute. We also look at the concept of restorative real estate developments, and even at how the Alto Adige - South Tyrol region of Italy that he is in has carved out a role for itself as a sustainable innovation hub within Italy.
An interview with Carlo Battisti, President of Living Future Europe.
Carlo qualified as a Civil Engineer from Milan's prestigious Politécnico University and now specializes in sustainable innovation and project management.
He is certified with LEED for green buildings, and WELL for healthy buildings and natural systems, amongst a host of other professional accreditations.
Biophilic Architecture - a Regenerative real estate vision
Here we discuss the the connection to nature between biophilic design, beauty and wellbeing from the perspective of the International Living Future Institute.
We also look at the concept of restorative real estate developments, and even at how the Bolzano area of Italy that he is in has carved out a role for itself as a sustainable innovation hub within Italy.
This is a dense but extremely dynamic conversation advocating for going beyond merely sustainable buildings.
I really felt I was in the presence of someone who has completely mastered his art and is now committed to giving back to society by sharing that knowledge through a range of different mediums, including but not limited to podcasts!
Full transcript follows courtesy of Otter.ai - please excuse any typos errors!
International Living Future Institute - biophilic design and regenerative real estate leader
Matt Morley
Carlo thank you so much for joining us on the show. I'm looking forward to our conversation, it's going to cover a lot. But I know you'll, you'll have the expertise to make it succinct, and also to help make it manageable for people to understand, because there's a lot for us to cover. So why don't we begin? Let's give an introduction to the ILFI.
Carlo Battisti
Yeah, surely. So first of all, I'm a building engineer by background, I've been working for 20 years in construction firms. Now it's already 15 years I'm dealing with sustainability and innovation in the building industry.
Living Building Challenge
I started dealing with sustainability standards, let's say, around 10 years ago, or even more, I discovered the Living Building Challenge, which is really the most ambitious sustainability standard for building occupants and the built environment.
I remember I went to Portland, USA for the annual flagship conference, Living Future 2014. I remember I was the only European in the room - "what are you doing here" they all said! I came back home with my brain full of ideas, and the work that they're doing is always amazing, even now.
Sustainability Standards
So it's really disruptive, because, you know, there are many sustainability standards out there are many conversation about how to make the bidding industry greener.
But the LBC really set the bar much higher. And knowing that the progress that we've been achieving in terms of the debates in the media industry, it's all still barely visible so we need to do much more.
The radical concept behind everything is really to move from a less bad to a more good scenario.
Restorative first, then Regenerative Buildings
So having a built environment could be restorative first and then regenerative, really improving the conditions for the environment and making possible an ecosystem that thrives, with personal and human connection and thriving in a regenerative way within the built environment.
Given that we know we are impacting the built environment generally, on all the sectors and environment more in general, we need to do much more. This living breathing channel framework is really a very holistic approach based on the metaphor of a building as a flower.
ILFI's seven petals
So there is this concept of the seven petals, the ILFI is basically developing these standards covering buildings have been in progress companies, communities, and office buildings and so forth and so on.
And we as Living Future Europe started opening their first European office in 2018. Now, we are an independent legal entity, we are basically promoting their programs across Europe with different activities to do with biophilic architecture, biophilic design principles and so on.
A career in biophilic design and the interior environment
Matt Morley
You mentioned your own professional background. A lot of people ask me how to get into this industry? What's the best way in? You know, how do we study for biophilic design? Or how do we study to get into the space that you're in? And it's not always an obvious response?
I think I see a lot of architects, engineers, project managers, from your position for someone interested in the space around green buildings, healthy buildings, commercial buildings that enhance well being and actually give back rather than take away from nature.
What are the usual roots in and where do you see education feeding into this space for interior designers and biophilic design experts in the future?
Developing expertise in biophilic design principles
Carlo Battisti
Yeah, that's a good point, in my personal experience, the process was very long. I don't know why it happened this way that's just life! I arrived to this point.
After many years in the construction industry but you can imagine what that was like in the 90s, or at the end of the last millenium, the situation was completely different - much less concern about the natural environment and natural materials.
The mantra was, if you remember, to just build, build, build and sell, and there was no particular attention on sustainability, outdoor space, green space, natural features.
Now, it's true that we are dealing with sustainability already for like two or three decades, considering all of the standards the framework that been developed in the same moment.
A career in biophilic architecture and the built environment
So for people starting their career now, it's really a bit different. This sustainability issue, this tension to sustainability, this need is so important that it's clearly the main focus not only for the building industry and architects or engineers but all economic sectors should really address this need for a more human connection, well being and biophilic design focuses in a more effective way.
It's important to have some technical, robust background because in the end, that is how you can deliver things. That is important.
Understanding real estate and construction
You need to know the processes behind real estate construction and biophilic design for an interior space for example, you need to know what you're basically doing as a designer, as a manufacturer, as a general contractor, because this is really what in the end impacts on the end result.
Also, in terms of sustainability and green buildings, it's important now that everything we are working with is really embedded in a broader sustainability concept.
So sustainability, in other terms, should be in the DNA of what we do as designers, contractors, or building product manufacturers, real estate developers, and so on.
Challenges in integrating biophilic design principles in built environment
I see there are really huge challenges ahead still. Like for instance, this Living Building Challenge also in the title is a ''challenge'! It's not easy, it's difficult to achieve a fully regenerative built environment.
On the other hand, I personally see a huge amount of opportunities for young professionals. And moreover, they have a really a different background. So consider, for instance, the Greta Thunberg movement to protect our natural habitat in modern society.
They have a really different approach, they know that we could do things better, that's why they are more open minded, they can really address these topics in a more effective way. Probably better that some senior professionals,
Matt Morley
For me , it was a decade working for a real estate developer, and then I moved across and transitioned into sustainability standards, organic materials, the health benefits of biophilic design strategies in an urban environment, how to integrate organic forms when evoking nature, and more generally what we term biophilic design principles in real estate and interiors from there.
Maybe that means I'm more limited, because I see new generations coming up already and they just start on the sustainability path much, much earlier than me so they leave university with really deep knowledge.
I think there's benefits to both routes still, both groups are coexisting in the job market but the new generation coming up are arguably starting even earlier than that we were able to! It's a process of human evolution I guess.
Living Building Challenge applied to urban environments
You mentioned the Living Building Challenge, we also have the Living Product Challenge, I think it's important to make that connection between the building itself and the elements that go into it, that contribute to creating a more regenerative building.
So the product challenge, it's like a sustainability standard for building components in a sense, right?
Carlo Battisti
Yeah, it's true, in fact, the frameworks really cover the entire biophilic design supply chain because they quickly understood that you need to address the entire supply chain from the developers up to the end users, because they're all parts of the same big picture if your goal is to achieve true sustainability in the built environment.
Product manufacturers in the built environment
So where is real success in sustainability to be found? Sometimes it's on the shoulders of building product manufacturers, because the way they are producing or designing their own products is really key in terms of achieving some sustainability results.
Under this perspective, the Living Product Challenge is a fantastic framework, really a Circular Economy standard or certification. So it is sort of party verified, as basically it's the application of say of the Living Building Challenge, our company is really producing a specific product in its supply chain in its factory, it is production line, following regenerative principles, so how they're producing and consuming energy from renewable sources, how they're managing the water cycle, how they're managing the waste products, is the product inspired by Biophilia or by biomimicry in some cases?
A supply chain perspective
Are they addressing this concept of beauty in the way they are producing things? What are the relationship between the company and their stakeholders, the community, their employees?
It's really a very broad and full regenerative approach with a really a circular entity in the end. I see that there are some amazing companies that register and certify their products with the Living Product challenge.
Declare label for well being
One company started with the Declare label, you know this ingredient label of forbidden products, and then they moved on to the Living Product Challenge, registered all of the catalog, and now they're producing what are considered to be the more sustainable office furniture on the market - desks, chairs, and so on.
They've been able to avoid some harmful substances that were typical in the furniture industry, like, for instance, chromium six, like PVC, formaldehyde and other harmful ingredients.
So this implies that you have like to put in place, also some innovative ideas to change your process to transform your production lines, which is not easy. Moreover, for some big industry, but these changes that they're making are really beacons of light.
And in the industry, they can also act as demonstrators that these changes are really possible. And once they they do it, then others will come, the others will follow.
Eco labels and the healthy material connection to nature
Matt Morley
To place some context on that, a lot of the products with a some kind of an eco label are often really just saying, well, it's non toxic, it is not doing harm to the indoor air environment, for example, if you place our products in your interior space, or if you use our paint, or use our adhesive.
What you're describing is something much more advanced and comprehensive and holistic in that you're looking at a far wider range of factors.
So for me, anything that's coming out with a DECLARE or even Living Product Challenge certification, it's absolutely the gold standard, it really is lightyears ahead of everything else.
I imagine that that means it is also much harder for those companies to satisfy those standards, because you're just asking a lot more from them!
They are also leading the way, right, they're showing what is possible, and being the early adopters, for the others to then follow. I think in the future, it might be a basic starting point. But to go beyond that, you need something like what you've just described?
Carlo Battisti
The healthy products debate
Yeah, well, there is you know is a big issue with healthy products in the built environment and the building industry. So let me be very frank on this.
The developer that built the Bullitt Center where International Living Future Institute in the US are based, it's in Seattle, he used to say that being compliant with the norm is only one step above being illegal.
And that through sometimes, if you remember, we took like 20 years to ban some harmful substances that we discovered were completely critical. And, and chemistry is running really faster than our capacity to understand what's happening.
You know, if this product, the products that we are using in our indoor spaces are healthy, are safe, or not. So that's why it's true, that could be challenging for these companies to demonstrate how good they are in doing some things, but it's really covering this real addressing sort of social issue this up dramatically important, so our human health, and the health of future generations.
Building product manufacturers
So we discovered that we need to start asking more from building product manufacturers to put more questions to to request the same level of transparency, for instance, we used to have in the food industry or in the textile industry.
So we learned we started learning, let's say to read into these labels to put questions so what's the product where the product is coming from? How the product is made? What are the ingredients if they're harmful or not?
Healthy building products
So this is crucially important so that's why it's true that this be challenged but it's basically covering our rights to be health healthy to see in the end and this is absolutely a level let's say of the bar that we cannot like like really say reduce because this is really very much connected with the health of our persons our people say
Matt Morley
It's almost like taking your building to the doctor's right and the doctor is looking for the the unhealthy points and recommending how to improve the health of the building and for many people it's easier not to worry about that you know you think about your own health maybe think about the quality or this the know how your food ingredients have been sourced but for many people to think about mental health of the building or the home you live in it's it's just not something.
Product standards are not high enough
Carlo Battisti
They say okay, the product should be comply with the norms. Okay, that's fine, but probably it's not enough. For instance, you are for sure following this discussion about the PFAs. Now the so there was this group of 17 June also newspapers magazine from all over Europe that completed this tremendous survey and investigation, let's say, on Where are where is PFAs in Europe, and... it's everywhere.
Red List Chemicals vs natural materials
And this is something that is used in the building industry, so the ILFI every year is updating the so called the Red List. And last year they included 11,000, new PFAs numbers in this list.
So just to say that, how is it possible for designers, but also for end users to follow all of these products, these natural materials, all of these processes are all of these developments in the chemical industry.
Declare label of ingredients
So that's why this demand of healthy products, for instance, the Declare label, is that really addressing this request is so important, because the question is really "what's in the product"? And is this ingredient harmful or not? You have to tell me, You mean in your bill in parliament of factors.
This is compliant with the so called Precautionary Principle that, for instance, in Europe is pretty common, but United States it's not so really accepted in the economy for instance, is still valid that architects and designers in the US guarantee that the product they use in the buildings are safe, not the manufacturers.
So understand it's completely nonsense is the manufacturer, that should be really the first to say, okay, my product is totally healthy and safe. That's why I can put it on the market, it's not the other way around that the end user should demonstrate that the product is safe is safe.
Standards for biophilic architecture and regeneration
Matt Morley
You mentioned the relationship there between the architects specifying individual products and imagine, you know, on a complete refurb, or new construction, there's a huge amount of information that they need to gather to process.
And then obviously, they know that they've got aesthetic concerns form and function, they've got budget, they've got to develop a client behind them, pushing them in one direction maybe being pulled in multiple directions.
At the same time. It's complex. How does the role of the type of green building certifications that you offer via Living Future Europe? How can that play a role in simplifying or providing guidance in that process?
So that there's a there's a roadmap for them to follow? Is that is that one of the advantages in doing it? Or is it more a case of having an extra resource on board who can help to bring new expertise to the consultancy team on development project?
Carlo Battisti
Yeah, I will say the work that I did for instance, with the Declare label was exactly to reconnect people and designers with the building industry, because in the end, they have been really disconnected in the last decades.
So we believe that the products are safer we live with believes that the manufacturers are doing their work properly. Sometimes we need to put more questions to look into into it. And like just for instance, really, this decline label is very simple.
So it's sort of an ingredients label for building products, where you can find all of the information on the building products, for instance, also, the expectance, let's say of life, what will be the let's say the final use of the product if the product could be recyclable, compostable, reusable, also the co2 emissions number connected through the product production.
Lifecycle assessment
So that you can also use this data for the lifecycle assessment of your building, and also of your product itself. So where the product is manufactured. So basically, it's a way to prove to provide in a simpler way complex information to and use it to the market.
This information are available on some database, and they'll say, as you said, so the role that these green building standards really played in the last decades is really to make to highlight the importance of this information sometimes could be a bit confusing.
I agree with you there is a really a plethora of labels and standards and certifications, sometimes they'll self declare sometimes that third third party verified. So it's really difficult for for end user for designers, we are really trying to make the things simpler, really starting from from the basic question, is this product safe or not?
Toxic substances in building materials
Are there in some harmful or toxic ingredients of substances or not? Then clearly, you as designer, architect and engineer they have they have to couple this information with other performance data because in the end, the product should be also performing for the purposes You select it, if it is like a flooring or structural elements on so forth, and so forth and so on.
But yeah, so we have to combine all of these things together search the right information. There are already some databases available. publicly for for designers. It's a bit complex, you have to take really holistic approach.
But I'd say this is also very interesting and, and absolutely motivated for, for the architects and engineers, because in the end, they're really responsible for the work they're doing. And the bill is they're creating the life of people who will leave in those buildings, so and they will live their life for decades.
So in the end, it's a sort of responsibility or responsible role that the planners the designers are are taking. It's, you know, it's a bit different. Compared to what happened, let's say, decades ago, we were talking only about like some architectural elements, the shape, or the layout of a building.
We were like discussing many times or the color of the ceramic tiles, but probably they are more important things to come into.
Biophilic design combines sustainability and wellbeing
Matt Morley
And how do you see biophilic design fitting into that? I've often thought of it as being this interesting hybrid of healthy buildings or healthy wellness interiors, and biophilic design focuses, and sustainability.
Biophilic Society Europe
I was interested with your role, both from the Biophilic Society in Europe, but then also with the connection to the ILFI's biophilic design initiative that always seems to get amazing amounts of press is popping up on my my Google searches every day, it seems that their various prizes and awards.
How does biophilic design fit into this? Is it both healthy and sustainable at the same time? Or how do you see that structure?
Biophilic design to enhance well being and connection to nature
Carlo Battisti
Now, very good point, Matt. Because in by chance, it is always a not by chance back to the previous version of the standard of Living Building Challenge, the 3.1 version, the Biophilia concept was embedded in the health and happiness petal.
Now with the new version, the fourth version, which has been launched in 2019, it has been moved to the beauty petal. So to recognize that Biophilia is not only about how healthy the indoor spaces are, but it's also something more... so really addressing the beauty concept of a building.
And this is very much embedded in the standard Living Building Challenge things we are doing, we really discovered that we need to address this concept in a more effective way.
This is something for instance, that popped up, let's say dramatically during the pandemic. So during the pandemic time, we were blocking our lockdown in our cities and our builders, we discovered how important it was leaving in some beautiful biophilic interior spaces and of races looking out of your window to like a park or a garden or biophilic places instead of a concrete building.
Natural landscapes
How different was our perception of the world around us, where we were basically obliged to stay in lockdown for more than 90% of our daily time, which is something that basically we are always doing like for instance, this, like this moment, we are both in some enclosed spaces.
So all these spaces are are designed and made this is really important. So we started addressing this concept of a more effective way. We started with this Biophilia campaign last year in the woods of South till the end of September.
So we basically convene 15 professionals from all over Europe, there was also a couple of persons from the Middle East, the one person from the United States, so to work and trained and live together for four days, in really very much connected with nature, with some indoor and outdoor activities from this Biophilia camp, this idea of Biophilic Society came out.
So the biophilic society is not only like the society or biophilic law or something like the societies in London in the 19th centuries. Remember, there were societies for everything. So it's not only the Society of biophilic people, but it's also the concept that society could be more biophilic.
A connection to nature
And that our message is really that reconnecting with nature could be really an effective way to save, let's say, our life, let's say in the next decades and center, so this is absolutely important that that's why we started with, with some activities by Finnish societies, basically a network or as we used to call it a linear system of passionate people around Europe and also outside the Europe.
We are meeting on a monthly basis, presenting some case studies and experiences. And now we are organizing this Biophilia Summit, which will be online on the seventh of June, 2023. It is online because it is the easier way for, for us to say to connect, the more people possible.
Even if clearly, meeting in person could be a better idea, but for the first time, the idea is really to have a larger participation and also to address by failure, not only on the architectural sectors are not not only biophilic design, but also put in by a fee in connection with other sectors like racism, with agriculture, with psychology. And obviously, also with with architecture with photography.
So there will be many examples of how we can read Biophilia through different lenses. And we are absolutely encouraging your followers to connect on the seventh of June, for a full day with a lot of fantastic speakers.
Matt Morley
Natural light and much more
So it will include the links to that in the show notes. And then the relationship between the potential of biophilia to create spaces that not only provide beauty natural light, but also mental and physical well being for the occupants in the space.
And then also, whilst not doing any harm, and ideally, giving something back to the environment around it, to transition from that type of concept into restorative sustainability, use the words early restore and then regenerate.
Perhaps it's worth just clarifying that and if you if there's a distinction between them in your mind if they have two phases, if one leads to the other, and perhaps Yeah, just to understand how we use those terms precisely around "restorative" sustainability and "regenerative".
Regenerative real estate and interior space
Carlo Battisti
Now, that's absolutely an important question. So it's important to clarify. So, we start again from Biophilia. So Biophilia is really embedded in this discussion or conversation about sustainability because reconnecting with nature is something that's vitally important.
So one of the main problem and one of the reasons why we came to this situation stems with this ecological global crisis is really the fact that we we really disconnected from nature, we really didn't understand the natural processes and flows and so forth and so on.
And also our life and our activities are really impacting on the environment and the environment is basically around us, we are parts of the environment, we are part of nature, we have the same natural elements together with other living species.
So we are always say in the same situation, the the point of sustainability is very important, because, you know, sometimes we are, so obviously, often we are very confused about this terms of sustainability, because everyone is really providing us a different explanation, a different description of sustainability.
And this is something where we should be more really very clear. So for us sustainability is a is a is really giving back to the environment, what we have been taken off. So it's really sort of zero points in the diagram, you can imagine a diagram, comparing, let's say, our actions and the impact on on on the environment.
Towards Net Zero buildings
So it's really the net zero point in this diagram, and we haven't reached out this point is still so we are still free, again, within the built environment doing less bad.
So we are designing and building buildings that are less consuming, less impacting, doing less harm. So sometimes it's also frustrating because it's always a negative concept. Again, talking about green buildings, there are buildings that they're basically doing less harm, they're not even sustainable. They're not still say sustainable.
For instance, this definition of sustainability is something that also Yvon Chouinard from Patagonia is basically providers the same, the same concept, he says, We shouldn't start, we should, we shouldn't talk about sustainability, until we really give back to the environment what we took off.
So only from that point on, we can really talk about sustainability, moving forward on this sort of ideal S curve is becoming restorative. So basically, again, talking about the built environment, or the action we can do in the built environment is really recovering the damage that we did in the past years.
Because we did a lot of damage and so weak but we can recover this previous situation and move moving forward toward a more exotic conservation means that we should really create the conditions for the built environment, the building system, and the let's say the ecosystem around us to thrive in a continuous way, in a permanent way, really as living organisms say, are we able to conceive, like, for instance, a building performance, his weight, yes, it's possible.
He's also technologically and financially via variable. So it's like, for instance, a building that is completely done with safe materials, that is producing more energy that consumes from renewable sources, and so forth and so on.
That is, let's say, providing benefits and positive effects on people and living species and beings, and so forth, and so on. So it's really a sort of dynamic concept of sustainability. And if we are always, let's say, comparing the effects of our actions to the built environment, or what's happening in terms of ecological global crisis, so where we know that we already exceeded exceeded some of the planetary boundaries, we we understand immediately that we have the urgency to do much more to do much better now.
So without like, waiting for for four years without, let's say, planning some magical roadmap, so we need to act really quickly, immediately. And the good news is that we have all of the expertise or all of the technologies and techniques available, or the materials, the strategies is really about to be be be more convinced and be more responsible of what we're doing, and and walk the talk basically, and put this this country concrete strategies into action.
Matt Morley
And in your advisory services, then how are you working with the industry? Is that typically, you collaborating with developers?
Are you spreading the message around sustainable buildings and this particular interpretation architectural design that you have of how they can do more good at a sort of purely information level?
Or are you working on a commercial scale with developers on for example, tenders or feasibility studies as well?
Carlo Battisti
We really try to spread the word on all the levels possible on the entire supply chain, with training, workshops... Education is really key. Because it's really about creating a different culture, as you can imagine, so from the end of last year, we started also provided some advisory services for some specific projects.
So we understood that it's important to follow some exemplary projects, and bring them forward, let's say to the end, so that they can become real, and they can actually act really as demonstrators of the visibility of these concepts.
Instead of providing like generic answers to all of the inquires we're receiving from from Europe is we did up to last year. Now we are really following some specific projects.
For instance, we are working on a first full Living Building Challenge registered project is Scotland. It's a fantastic school complex with all of the students from the primary to the high school. And basically they are working to create this pavilion where they will teach sustainability to their students and also to their community.
So a unique place to deal with this concept. And for instance, we are working together with with the design team on this project. We're also following for instance, a completely different situation - a standard small residential building all made in timber in Madrid, which is pursuing both zero energy and zero carbon certification.
So as you can see, there are many ways to achieve great results. And we are trying to say to work together, we are really working alongside of the consultants in this specific situation in order to, to make this process become real. So it's basically a role of facilitator. Because once these projects, these buildings are finished, then you can really you know, you can explain the case that you can explain how you did it.
And it's probably the best example that you can provide to your stakeholders because in the end, people understand that, okay, this is feasible. This is something I could do. And I would like to do for my home, my new school, my new public building, or my new office building. And, you know, it's a matter of examples sometimes.
Bolzano, Alto-Adige - a sustainability case study
Matt Morley
Very interesting. Let me ask if I may, just one final question because, Bolzano and the region you're in there in Italy just keeps coming up on my radar or has been doing that for well over five or six years. I think something is happening in that part of the natural world too...
I'm really interested to know how much it's feeding your work with inspiration? Is it providing inspiration or what is what is going on in that region, because it just seems to be, particularly within the context of Italy, which, let's be honest, is often not necessarily the first country that comes up, we might think of the Scandinavian countries that are perhaps leading the way on sustainability. But I think there's something happening in that quarter of the country, right?
Carlo Battisti
I would say that the local autonomous government is really providing a lot of great marketing, let's say, this is could be one point!
No, it's true that some specific data is a very specific situation in Italy, also, due to the fact that is local autonomous government.
So it's, it's an autonomous province. So basically, you know, all of the public services are managed locally. And sometimes people really understand how their money has been coming from taxes, has been spent, you know, schools or hospitals are managed by the local government, there are other services like for instance, police post justice, that clearly are managed at the national level. So this could be one of the explanation.
Or another explanation is the fact that there's really a sort of a ring in the chain between the Mediterranean and the Nordic environment in the same talk in from a drag geographical perspective, here, people are mostly speaking German language. So they are very much connected with the German speaking area.
And for instance, you know, that Germany and Austria and these countries have been always very keen on energy efficiency thinks for instance, here, there is a standard that stopped that we've been basically created like already more than 20 years ago, and added efficiency standard, which is mandatory for the local local builders.
So it started with energy efficiency, and then from energy efficiency, basically, this conversation of sustainability, got a broader perspective. Say it's a small region with 500,000, inhabitants, a lot of nature, a lot of mountains, you know, so in a few minutes, we are in the Mantis, it could be a sensitive environment.
So because you know, there could be like some trade offs, like, for instance, out to attract more tourists, which is something that is interesting for the economy, but without impact on the environment.
So this is a huge trade off. And this is something that is now every day in the news, because there is really a tension between these two aspects. So it's an important conversation that probably will take another another an hour to be addressed.
But again, probably this close proximity with nature is something that inspires people. More I, I moved here like years ago, so I'm not from from this region, as many others did.
And I wouldn't return back, let's be frank, I like to be here. And it's considered also, again, the most probably the more sustainable region in terms of sustainability approach, in Italy, say, so.
And that's why it's good to be here, there is this nitec Park, this noise, an acronym for nature of innovation, but it's also it's also a different understanding in terms of explanation in German, and in Italian, because it's hot in Italian. And it's also new in German.
So with the same acronym, the same term were basically addressed to the three languages, it's absolutely a great place to it's technological Park is basically, it's the renovation of an existing aluminium production plant that was used between the two World Wars.
It's a 12 hectares area acquired by the local government, and now under a huge transformation, really to create this technological park where there are startups, tech companies, and so forth. And so we settled here in 2018.
And it's absolutely a great opportunity to be here to connect with other research centers, companies, startups, you know, an eight, it's all about innovation. It's, it's a great initiative. So the idea was really, to put all these different actors in the same place.
And for the sole fact that you are meeting the real at the bar and drinking a coffee and you start talking about you know, your ID, and then you discover that could be a company interested in developing your ID or Research Center, study your ID and moving forward to create something more concrete so it's basically how this innovation processes start.
And that's why it makes sense to have this big, huge facilitator tool to help the innovation try I have here in the in the region.
Matt Morley
Wonderful. Well, thank you so much. That was really a fascinating conversation. Anyone interested in connecting with you or learning more about your initiatives or following along, which social media channels are you using for your communications?
Carlo Battisti
Well, so we are pretty active on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. So follow Living Future Europe.
We are generally updating daily, probably to much! We are doing many things because we understood that there are many topics to cover, you know, the building industry, the built environment is a bit complex, it is touching many angles.
So that's why we are really working on some topics that we find very important and key for our development. So please follow us and let us know if you need any information. I'm happy to provide them.
https://www.living-future.eu/biophilic-society/
https://www.living-future.eu/biophilia-summit-2023-call-for-abstracts-is-open/