WELL Building Standard Expands Across EMEA: 105M Sq. Meters Advancing Health-Focused Design
At its WELL Flagship Summit in London, the International WELL Building Institute (IWBI) announced major progress for the WELL Building Standard (WELL) throughout Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA). Across this region, WELL adoption has expanded to more than 105 million square meters (1.14 billion square feet) across over 7,500 locations that are either pursuing or have achieved WELL milestones. Representing nearly 20% of WELL’s global footprint, this growth highlights the region’s deepening commitment to health-centered design and people-first environments.
WELL-certified and pursuing projects now span 76 EMEA countries, reflecting widespread recognition of WELL as the leading benchmark for healthy buildings, organizations, and communities. The United Kingdom leads in adoption, with more than 1,100 projects encompassing over 12 million square meters (130 million square feet). Poland stands out as a Central and Eastern European leader in WELL innovation, while France, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, and Germany continue to drive progress across Western Europe. In the Middle East, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has shown strong uptake, particularly through the WELL Health-Safety Rating, measured both in area and number of sites.
“The impressive rise of WELL across the EMEA region shows a clear global desire for spaces that actively promote health and well-being,” said Rachel Hodgdon, President and CEO of IWBI.
“More organizations are recognizing that healthy environments benefit not just people, but also business performance and community resilience. This momentum reinforces a shared vision of a healthier built world.”
Within EMEA, the Architecture, Engineering, Construction, and Design (AECD) and Real Estate sectors continue to hold the largest share of WELL projects, reflecting a growing integration of health and wellness principles from the design phase onward. Other key sectors include Financial Services and Insurance, Energy and Utilities, and Professional and Business Services.
Since its debut in 2014, WELL has provided an evidence-based framework for organizations worldwide to embed health-promoting strategies within their buildings and operations.
The broader WELL ecosystem—comprising WELL Certification, the WELL Health-Safety Rating, the WELL Performance Rating, the WELL Equity Rating, the WELL Coworking Rating, the WELL Community Standard, and the WELL for Residential pilot—continues to drive market transformation toward environments that enhance both physical and mental well-being. Additionally, IWBI’s WELL at scale program, which includes participation from 36 EMEA-based organizations, extends these benefits across entire real estate portfolios, supporting health, performance, and transparent reporting.
This regional expansion contributes significantly to WELL’s global impact—supporting the health and well-being of an estimated 30 million people and covering more than $2 trillion USD in managed assets. It demonstrates that prioritizing health yields tangible benefits: improved well-being, stronger business results, and higher-performing people.
The London summit emphasized the business case for healthy buildings, featuring a dedicated session on the second edition of IWBI’s Investing in Health Pays Back report. This new edition more than doubles the amount of research, citations, and case studies—drawing from academic literature, industry data, and European real-world examples.
“From Scandinavia to South Africa, the message is consistent: investing in health delivers measurable returns,” said Ann Marie Aguilar, Senior Vice President for EMEA at IWBI. “We’re excited to share the latest edition of our report with the regional market, backed by robust research connecting healthy building practices to productivity and performance gains.”
Click here to know more about WELL projects across the EMEA region.
WELL-certified and pursuing projects now span 76 EMEA countries, reflecting widespread recognition of WELL as the leading benchmark for healthy buildings, organizations, and communities. The United Kingdom leads in adoption, with more than 1,100 projects encompassing over 12 million square meters (130 million square feet). Poland stands out as a Central and Eastern European leader in WELL innovation, while France, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, and Germany continue to drive progress across Western Europe. In the Middle East, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has shown strong uptake, particularly through the WELL Health-Safety Rating, measured both in area and number of sites.
“The impressive rise of WELL across the EMEA region shows a clear global desire for spaces that actively promote health and well-being,” said Rachel Hodgdon, President and CEO of IWBI.
“More organizations are recognizing that healthy environments benefit not just people, but also business performance and community resilience. This momentum reinforces a shared vision of a healthier built world.”
Within EMEA, the Architecture, Engineering, Construction, and Design (AECD) and Real Estate sectors continue to hold the largest share of WELL projects, reflecting a growing integration of health and wellness principles from the design phase onward. Other key sectors include Financial Services and Insurance, Energy and Utilities, and Professional and Business Services.
Since its debut in 2014, WELL has provided an evidence-based framework for organizations worldwide to embed health-promoting strategies within their buildings and operations.
The broader WELL ecosystem—comprising WELL Certification, the WELL Health-Safety Rating, the WELL Performance Rating, the WELL Equity Rating, the WELL Coworking Rating, the WELL Community Standard, and the WELL for Residential pilot—continues to drive market transformation toward environments that enhance both physical and mental well-being. Additionally, IWBI’s WELL at scale program, which includes participation from 36 EMEA-based organizations, extends these benefits across entire real estate portfolios, supporting health, performance, and transparent reporting.
This regional expansion contributes significantly to WELL’s global impact—supporting the health and well-being of an estimated 30 million people and covering more than $2 trillion USD in managed assets. It demonstrates that prioritizing health yields tangible benefits: improved well-being, stronger business results, and higher-performing people.
The London summit emphasized the business case for healthy buildings, featuring a dedicated session on the second edition of IWBI’s Investing in Health Pays Back report. This new edition more than doubles the amount of research, citations, and case studies—drawing from academic literature, industry data, and European real-world examples.
“From Scandinavia to South Africa, the message is consistent: investing in health delivers measurable returns,” said Ann Marie Aguilar, Senior Vice President for EMEA at IWBI. “We’re excited to share the latest edition of our report with the regional market, backed by robust research connecting healthy building practices to productivity and performance gains.”
Click here to know more about WELL projects across the EMEA region.
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