Hibernia REIT plc has announced that it has become one of the first property companies in Ireland to achieve the WELL Health-Safety Rating for Facility Operations and Management in its owned and managed office buildings

The Rating is provided by the International WELL Building Institute (IWBI), which sets standards and certifies measures that contribute to physical and mental health and well-being within buildings.

The Rating was introduced based on feedback from the IWBI’s Task Force on COVID-19 and Other Respiratory Infections, a group of nearly 600 public health experts, academics, business leaders, architects and real estate professionals, which was established in late March 2020 to support the IWBI’s response to the pandemic.  This group identified the need for a third-party designation that would help guide building owners and operators towards evidence-based best practices for mitigating the spread of COVID-19 and for navigating this crisis and beyond.

Dan Boyd, Head of Occupier Services at Hibernia, said: “The safety and well-being of our tenants, staff and suppliers has been our key priority throughout the pandemic, during which we have rigorously followed government guidelines and international best practice in our response.  Obtaining the WELL Health-Safety Rating provides third-party verification that we operate our buildings to the highest international standards.  As our tenants’ employees return to offices, they can have full confidence that their building is being operated to support a safe and healthy working environment.”

The Rating award follows an extensive audit of Hibernia’s policies and procedures introduced in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, across five key themes: cleaning and sanitisation procedures, emergency preparedness, stakeholder engagement and communication, health service resources, and air and water quality management.  Achievement of the Rating is a sign of our commitment to supporting the health of individuals in our buildings in the post-COVID-19 environment and as they start to return to office-based working.