103 International WELL Building Institute’s WELL Building Standard Taking a holistic approach to health in the built environment and addressing behaviour, operations and design, the WELL Building Standard is a performance-based system for measuring, certifying and monitoring features of the built environment that impact human health and wellbeing, through air, water, nourishment, light, fitness, comfort and mind. Its principles are grounded in a body of medical research that explores the connection between buildings and the health and wellness impacts on occupants. The six standards outlined above have nuanced interpretations of what makes a building sustainable but all offer a thorough and rigorous test for owners, architects, designers and construction companies. Although certification for a newbuild vessel has not historically been granted, on at least one occasion a cruise line has self-audited its work against LEED criteria and felt that it had achieved a high enough standard to comfortably exceed the requirements for a Silver certification. In addition, as we were going to press with this report, a BREEAM sales consultant told us: “We are in discussion regarding a BREEAM in-use cruise ship that is permanently moored ship in Sweden. Cruise and ferry assets are tricky to identify if it is considered an infrastructure building or an industrial asset.” This may become a precedent that has the potential to transform certification for the passenger shipping sector. If BREEAM certification proves to be applicable to in-use ships, there is every reason to believe that it could lead to the organisation working out how to manage newbuild certification. If that happens, others will likely follow. Alternative frameworks and standards Between them, the six green building standards outlined above encompass a variety of other recognised sustainability approaches that can contribute to a building’s certification assessment. Although these approaches have various intersecting aims and methods, they are often pursued as standalone efforts to seek greater sustainability: • Environmental Product Declaration • Health Product Declaration • Life-Cycle Assessment • Organisation Environment Footprint • Product Environment Footprint • Sustainability Reporting • Sustainable Materials Management • Zero Waste
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