JLL Asia Pacific marks well-being milestone with world’s first WELL Portfolio Score for building occupiers

Shanghai, 25 August 2020 - JLL is the first corporate occupier in the world to receive a WELL Portfolio Score. This marks another milestone in the company’s focus on employees’ health and well-being after the JLL Shanghai HKRI Taikoo Hui became the first project in the region to be awarded the WELL Platinum Certification in 2017.

“At JLL, the health and well-being of our people is of utmost importance. And we’re extremely proud to be the first corporate occupier to receive the WELL Portfolio Score. It underlines our commitment to our employees in our offices across the region,” says Anthony Couse, CEO, JLL Asia Pacific. “We started our journey with WELL three years ago with our JLL Shanghai office because we realise that it is important to create a workplace that not only demonstrates JLL’s sustainable practices, but also one which is healthy, productive and helps our employees to thrive. Since then, we have progressively upgraded several of our offices while implementing WELL health features across our portfolio to better meet the needs of our people.”

“We were very keen to be part of the WELL Portfolio Score right from the start as we wanted to assess how we’ve fared after rolling out WELL health-focused features in our Asia Pacific offices in the last couple of years. These features, such as lighting and ventilation, help improve the comfort, performance and most importantly, the physical and mental health of our employees no matter which office they are based at,” says Matthew Clifford, Global Product Owner, Energy and Sustainability Services, JLL. “While we are very proud of how far we’ve come to receive the WELL Portfolio Score, we will also be looking at where we can do even better for our employees.”

Importance in a post-pandemic world

The worldwide trend towards healthier indoor spaces was gaining traction before the Covid-19 outbreak. Against the backdrop of the pandemic, the integration of health and the built environment is more urgent than ever.

According to research from Harvard University’s Healthy Buildings Lab, buildings are able to promote better health and help stem the spread of infectious disease through improvements in elements such as air quality and humidity levels. From reviewing heating, ventilation and air-conditioning systems (HVAC) to having better microbe and mould controls, there are a host of ways to ensure healthier workplaces.

“Amid this global pandemic, our buildings play an even greater role in promoting public health. We believe that buildings and those who tend to them – owners and developers, facilities managers and HR professionals – can be frontline caregivers in terms of being agents of health,” says Rachel Gutter, President, IWBI.