The Los Angeles Post

IWBI Joins the United Nations Global Compact

by ·

Commits to global corporate citizenship initiative and highlights its work in advancing UN Sustainable Development Goals

NEW YORK, June 24, 2019  – The International WELL Building Institute (IWBI) today announced that it has signed on to the United Nations Global Compact, a voluntary leadership platform for the development, implementation and disclosure of responsible business practices.

With this commitment, IWBI joins thousands of companies and civil society organizations from all sectors and parts of the world in implementing the UN Global Compact’s 10 principles on human rights, labor, environment and anti-corruption. IWBI has long supported the UN Global Compact’s principles of corporate strategy, culture and day-to-day operations. IWBI’s WELL Building Standard, the world’s premier rating system for advancing buildings and communities that enhance human health and well-being, has identified in its standard how each of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are supported by WELL’s work.

“Every day our dedicated team is looking for opportunities to deliver the positive social impact that is offered by the promise of WELL,” said IWBI Chairman and CEO Rick Fedrizzi. “It is our strong belief that, by participating in the UN Global Compact, we will demonstrate to our global community that business has the transformative power to do well by doing good. The strategies that we advocate to support human health must go hand-in-hand with actions that improve education, reduce inequality, confront climate change and protect our environment.”

“Human health is inextricably linked to environmental and socio-economic vitality, said Rachel Gutter, IWBI president. “WELL’s alignment with the SDGs reinforces the powerful opportunity we all have to catalyze our buildings and communities as mechanisms to improve the health of both people and the planet.”

To date, over 2,100 projects have registered or certified nearly 400 million square feet of space.  WELL’s rapid uptake across 51 countries has not only made it the tool of choice for leaders who put the impact on people at the center of design and operations decisions. It has helped to cut across operational siloes and garner attention for the critical role that workplaces, homes and schools – and the organizations behind them – play in contributing to thriving communities and society at large.

As a special initiative of the UN Secretary-General, the UN Global Compact is a call to companies everywhere to align their operations and strategies with the 10 universal principles. Launched in 2000, the UN Global Compact guides and supports the global business community in advancing UN goals and values through responsible corporate practices. It emphasizes collaboration and innovation among its more than 9,500 companies and 3,000 non-business signatories based in over 160 countries, and more than 70 Local Networks.