With the normalcy of COVID-19 now part of every FMA’s day and Flu season in full swing, it is vital to identify and balance the needs of your customers and tenants with requirements to meet legislative standards.
The most crucial emphasis is improving indoor air quality to attract workers back to offices and away from their comfortable working-from-home routines and retain them by maintaining productive, healthy workplaces. Staff who have enjoyed the comfort and security of their home office are reluctant to leave this protected environment. The onus is now more than ever on facilities managers and property owners to market the advantages of the indoor environment to tenants.
NABERS Indoor Environment (IE) and the WELL Building Standard are performance-based certification tools that measure components of the indoor environment. While NABERS IE and WELL both measure operational performance, WELL also addresses building design and organisational policies.
NABERS IE and the WELL rating systems share many common processes to achieve certification. Both ratings require third-party testing by those who have been accredited and trained in the rating system’s particular performance testing process.
The financial year of 2021/22 recorded a 34% increase in NABER Indoor Environment ratings around Australia, with more and more uptake of this rating and the WELL rating also on the rise.
While the growth in NABERS IE and WELL ratings is rising in the Australian marketplace, it is essential to remember that these tools are not just about a one-off rating; it is a continuous journey to improve performance ratings over time – always with the final goal in sight; it requires a cultural shift and cooperative change from all stakeholders.
These ratings significantly improve the indoor environment, which results in lower staff absenteeism, better workplace productivity, retaining staff and tenants and attracting premium tenants. These factors also contribute to reputational benefits as they demonstrate leadership, strengthen ESG performance, and have a distinct competitive advantage with prospective buyers and tenants.
There is also now a crosswalk pathway to combine some of the data obtained through NABERs for the WELL rating.
Opira offers both NABERS and WELL accreditation, bringing a much more holistic approach to the health and well-being of your workplace and can enable both accreditations to be performed simultaneously, enabling substantial cost benefits. For more information, contact our team at solutions@opira.com.au
