New York, New York, October 12, 2017 — The Center for Active Design today announces WSP, a leading globally recognized professional services firm, as a committed Fitwel Champion. WSP, which employs approximately 36,000 people in more than 500 offices across 40 countries worldwide, will certify some of their offices with Fitwel in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. Fitwel is the premier building certification system for optimizing building design and operations to promote health. Through its adoption of the Fitwel Certification System, WSP further solidifies its position as a market leader in supporting workplace wellness for employees, clients, and surrounding communities.
“WSP Canada’s Sustainability & Energy team is proud to use Fitwel in order to help promote health and wellness not only within our own offices, but also with our clients and the industry as a whole,” says Regan Smith, Director of Sustainability & Energy. “As a global leader in green building benchmarking and certification services, WSP is always looking for ways to improve the performance of buildings in ways that benefit both people and the environment. We see Fitwel as a way to further the discussion of health and wellness in buildings.”
Fitwel has current users committed in Canada and the UK with plans to enter other global markets in 2018. Fitwel is advancing chronic disease prevention and strengthening health promotion worldwide.
“We are thrilled to partner with WSP, a company with demonstrated leadership in developing engineering solutions, which are known to be creative, sustainable, and impactful. Through its application of Fitwel globally, WSP will continue to innovate within the office market sector, creating offices that support health and wellbeing,” says Joanna Frank, President & CEO of the Center for Active Design, operator of Fitwel.
According to a 2011 Gallup poll, “full-time workers in the US with chronic health conditions miss an estimated 450 million days of work each year…resulting in more than USD $153 billion productivity losses annual.” Developed through the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the General Services Administration, Fitwel reduces the risk of chronic health conditions by addressing smoking, poor diet, and physical inactivity through its seven health impact categories: increasing physical activity, promoting occupant safety, providing healthy food options, instilling feelings of well-being, social equality for vulnerable populations, reducing morbidity and absenteeism, and impacting community health.
As a Fitwel Champion, WSP’s Sustainability & Energy team is committing to benchmarking, and certifying several of its own offices in Canada, the United States, and the United Kingdom using Fitwel.
About WSP
WSP (TSX: WSP) is one of the world’s leading professional services consulting firms. We are dedicated to our local communities and propelled by international brainpower. We are technical experts and strategic advisors including engineers, technicians, scientists, project managers, planners, surveyors and environmental specialists, as well as other design and program management professionals. We design and deliver lasting solutions in the Buildings, Transportation, Infrastructure, Oil & Gas, Environment, Geomatics, Mining, Power and Industrial sectors as well as project delivery and strategic consulting services. With over 7,500 talented people across Canada and 36,000 globally, we engineer projects that will help societies grow for generations to come. www.wsp.com.
About Fitwel & the Center for Active Design
Named one of Fast Company’s 2017 Top 10 Most Innovative Companies in Social Good, Fitwel is the premier system for optimizing building design and operations to improve health and productivity outcomes. Generated by expert analysis of over 3,000 academic research studies, Fitwel is implementing a vision for a healthier future where all buildings and communities are enhanced to strengthen health and wellbeing. Fitwel was created as a joint initiative led by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s together with the General Services Administration. The Center for Active Design (CfAD), an international non-profit that uses design to foster healthy and engaged communities is the independent operator and third-party certifier of Fitwel. CfAD was awarded the exclusive operating license in 2016 with the mandate to expand Fitwel globally to the private sector. CfAD takes a multi-disciplinary approach to translating research into practical design solutions. CfAD guides the creation and implementation of initiatives that respond to unique community priorities and result in measurable outcomes. www.fitwel.org | www.centerforactivedesign.org
