WELL office certification: health becomes a financial asset

02

The framework

The WELL v2 standard structures 10 health and wellbeing concepts across 4 levels (Bronze 40 pts, Silver 50 pts, Gold 60 pts, Platinum 80 pts) over a total of 110 points, in its Q4 2023 version. It draws on international health standards, ASHRAE 62.1 and ANSI, and complements HQE (built environment) and BREEAM (operations), which focus on other dimensions.

Three pressures converge on French office management teams:

• Regulatory: the CSRD directive (EU 2022/2464) mandates ESRS S1 reporting on working conditions, and ERTs are governed by the Labour Code (recodified Decree 92.332 and the amended order of 05 August 1992), which notably regulates indoor air quality.
• Economic: absenteeism represents 4.5% of working time, or around 108 billion euros in direct cost on the French payroll.
• Attractiveness: the 2023 quality of work life barometers confirm the effect of space quality on executive engagement.

Across a premium office portfolio, the triptych HQE Very Good + BREEAM In-Use Excellent + occupant-health certification covers environment, operations and occupants. Since 2020 Kytom has observed a marked increase in specifications including an occupant-health requirement, driven by CAC 40 headquarters and mid-cap companies aligning their real estate with their CSR policy.

In practice, the most robust ROI generally comes from the rental premium and asset value, more than from HR gains, which are harder to audit. The asset manager who funds an occupant-health certification for quality of work life alone underestimates the rent lever; the HR director who defends it in isolation deprives the decision of the financial leverage that makes it profitable.

04

Points to watch

$0.16/sq ft, recommissioning every 3 years, older buildings

A certification of this type is not signed blind. Three areas of vigilance structure our framing:

• Recurring costs: registration from $0.16/sq ft, performance verification mobilising an accredited agent 2 to 4 days on site, recommissioning every 3 years. These costs enter the business plan OPEX, not a post-delivery oversight.
• Dependence on the existing building: without an air handling unit capable of integrating MERV 13 filtration, the Gold level becomes unattainable if the landlord refuses the HVAC works.
• Required documentation: the final scoring relies on exhaustive traceability (product sheets, measurements, photos), which our certification allows us to industrialise.

We manage these three areas from the initial audit, to prevent them from derailing the performance verification 12 months later.

05

When to step back

Short lease, small floor plate, blocked HVAC: our alternatives

On a floor plate of less than 600 sqm with a residual lease of less than 4 years, aiming for full certification is not profitable: the ratio of certification, project management and recommissioning costs per sqm quickly becomes prohibitive, for a return on use cut short by the end of the lease.

The same logic applies if the building lacks a MERV 13 compatible AHU and the landlord locks down the HVAC works: the Gold level becomes unattainable without changing asset.

In these cases, we steer towards two alternatives:

1. A targeted IAQ approach (CO2, VOC, acoustic measurements according to the applicable standards) without filing a dossier, which secures regulatory health-and-safety compliance and the HR promise at a controlled cost.
2. An alignment with the principles of the health-and-wellbeing standard to feed ESRS S1 reporting, without going as far as certification.

This commercial honesty is part of the Kytom framing: we prefer to rule out a certification project that is not profitable rather than deliver a label that the holding period does not justify.

06

Method

1. Initial audit of the certification standard focused on occupant health and wellbeing.
   During the first 2 weeks, our team measures acoustics, VOC, luminance, CO2 and humidity on the existing floor plate, scores the 10 concepts of the applicable standard and identifies the features achievable without heavy works. This quantified diagnosis serves as the basis for the Silver/Gold decision.
2. Programming and decision
   Between weeks 2 and 4, we frame the target level with your asset manager and your HR director, cross-referencing holding period, available works budget and CSRD ESRS S1 requirements. The Silver/Gold/Platinum decision is made here, based on a documented ROI calculation.
3. Design oriented towards occupant wellbeing, aligned with indoor environmental quality standards.
   Over weeks 4 to 7, our studio integrates circadian lighting 300 to 500 lux, MERV 13 filtration, biophilic furniture, recovery zones and thermal comfort 21-24°C. Each feature selected is traced in the IWBI dossier.
4. Multi-agency execution
   From week 7 to week 11, our 11 agencies manage the site with low-emission materials and documentary traceability compliant with the requirements of the applicable indoor environmental quality standard. The Kytom quality system frames the collection of evidence and guarantees the consistency of controls throughout the operation.
5. IWBI performance verification
   From week 12, an accredited IWBI agent carries out the on-site tests, we file the certification dossier and organise the support on the three-yearly re-certification, including the recommissioning at 3 years required by IWBI.