The Instant Group, the largest flexible workspace marketplace, and the International WELL Building Institute (IWBI) are launching the WELL Coworking Rating, a health benchmark featuring over 50 WELL Standard elements.
The International WELL Building Institute (IWBI), the global authority on advancing healthy buildings, organizations and communities, together with The Instant Group, the largest global marketplace for flexible workspace, launch the WELL Coworking Rating, a pioneering health leadership benchmark designed for coworking and flexible spaces. Since announcing their partnership in April, The Instant Group has worked with IWBI to inform the development of the rating.
The new rating, derived from the health strategies in the WELL Building Standard, includes over 50 features spanning all 10 concepts in WELL, such as air and water quality, light and thermal comfort; and physical fitness and nourishment. With a public-facing seal upon achievement, the WELL Coworking Rating serves to validate and showcase how coworking and flexible workspaces meet evidence-based health and well-being measures, while also being integrated with The Instant Group’s platform to help occupiers and all those that enter the space know that the leadership benchmark has been met.
“After introducing Instant’s Sustainability Index last year, shifting our focus to health was a natural next step. Noticing the absence of a well-being benchmark specific to the co-working and flexible office market, we sought to partner with IWBI, the foremost authority on healthy buildings, to create an offering that landlords, operators and occupiers could all embrace,” said Sam Pickering, Executive Director, Head of Sustainability at The Instant Group. “By working with IWBI to develop the WELL Coworking Rating, Instant was able to leverage the science and evidence behind WELL, the world’s largest certification and ratings platform for healthy buildings, and introduce the first rating tailored specifically to the co-working and flex office market.”
Today, at the WELL Regional Summit in London, IWBI and Instant will officially unveil the WELL Coworking Rating alongside a special leadership cohort of organizations that have committed to being the first to use the new offering, including Koba, Landmark, Clockwise and Iconic Offices. With the launch of the rating, Instant will now be able to recognize operators of coworking and flexible workspaces for their health and well-being leadership, while giving occupiers of these workspaces crucial information about well-being attributes before booking or signing onto coworking space.
“The WELL Coworking Rating will help deliver the innovative health and productivity benefits of WELL to users of coworking and flexible workspaces," said IWBI President and CEO Rachel Hodgdon. "Everyone deserves a healthy workplace that supports their physical and mental well-being, and we couldn't be more excited to collaborate with The Instant Group to expand the reach of WELL's science-backed strategies alongside our first cohort of dedicated market leaders."
To recognize market leaders and spur uptake, the WELL Coworking Rating will be integrated into The Instant Group’s platform, which is the world’s largest marketplace for flexible workspace offerings and used by more than 20,000 landlords, flex operators and investors. Prospective coworking and flexible workspace users will be able to search for the new rating and its associated data as they access more than 350,000 flexible workplaces on Instant’s digital platforms.
Earlier this year, building on the success of their Sustainability Index launched in 2023, The Instant Group decided to expand its offering to focus on health and well-being. Recognizing IWBI as the global leader in healthy buildings, the two organizations formed a strategic partnership to explore opportunities, ultimately coming together to inform IWBI’s development of the WELL Coworking Rating.
Aligned with the growing demand for healthier places and spaces, research shows evidence-based health interventions in buildings help support workplace satisfaction, comfort and productivity, while also helping organizations better attract and retain talent. A 2022 study found that WELL Certified offices increase overall employee satisfaction by 28% and support a 10-point jump in median productivity. In addition, the growing research behind the business case for healthy buildings shows that these strategies help drive several economic benefits, including higher rents and longer lease terms.
Alexandra Livesey, Chief Operating Officer at Clockwise, commented, “Well-being is a core pillar of the Clockwise brand, the design of our workspaces and our member experience are centred around contributing positively to people’s mental and physical health. Establishing a formalised process and rating to recognise the elements that are within an operators' control is really motivating, a step in the right direction for our industry and a positive contribution to the ESG agenda as a whole.”
Rob Stewart, Director of Strategy and Sustainability at Koba, added, “Helping push industry standards forward is central to our mission, so working with Instant and IWBI on developing the rating was a really valuable experience. It's also an important tool for co-working occupiers looking to attract the type of 'grown-up' companies the industry is well placed to serve.”
For more information or if your organization is interested in using the WELL Coworking Rating, please contact us here or email sustainability@theinstantgroup.com to learn more.
