SREF London office asset Battersea Studios 1 awarded first ‘Fitwel for Workplace: Multi-Tenant Whole Building’ Certification in Europe

Schroder UK Real Estate Fund (SREF) asset Battersea Studio 1, part of the Battersea Studios office development in South West London, has been officially awarded the first ‘Fitwel for Workplace: Multi-Tenant Whole Building’ Certification in Europe.

As a ‘Whole Building’ assessment, the certification applies to the entire asset and all building users, not solely the base building and building management staff. The building achieved 97 Points and was awarded a ‘1 Star’ Rating. Sustainability consultancy firm and official Fitwel Ambassadors, EVORA Global, provided support throughout the completion of the assessment.

Tom Newman, Investment Manager at SREF, said:

“This achievement demonstrates our ongoing commitment to the comfort and experience of our occupiers - our customers - an inherent part of our investment and business strategy.”

Customer health, safety, wellbeing and productivity are fundamental to SREF’s broader Sustainability and Impact Investment programme, which centres on four key strategic pillars: People, Planet, Place and Prosperity.

The Fitwel standard, operated by the Center for Active Design, is a US-based third-party health and wellbeing assessment and certification framework that measures and scores buildings against 63 evidence-backed design and operational strategies – each of which is proven to improve and promote building user health and wellbeing. The criteria assessed within the standard includes:

• Proximity to amenities
• Proximity to green space and availability of exercise opportunities
• Active design (e.g. bike parking, commuter showers, accessibility/usability of internal staircases)
• Access to water and healthy food
• Indoor air quality
• Emergency procedures

Joanna Frank, President and CEO at the Center for Active Design, said:

“SREF continues its leadership within the industry by becoming the first in Europe to achieve the Fitwel certification for a whole building. This certification reflects SREF dedication to prioritizing tenant wellbeing, and benefits more than 1000 occupants at Battersea Studio 1.”

In addition to validating the existing health and wellbeing credentials of the building, the certification process also identified several ‘quick win’ improvement opportunities, which have all subsequently been implemented, including:

• Conducting an occupant commuter survey to gain further insight into active transport requirements for building users (e.g. bike storage and shower provision)
• Establishing an indoor air quality management policy
• Installing point-of-decision signs promoting use of staircases rather than lifts
• Assigning a meeting room for out-of-hours ‘wellness activities’ (e.g. book club, yoga)

Committed to continuous improvement, SREF and Battersea Studio 1 are already actively working to deliver further enhancements at the asset with the aim of achieving a ‘Two Star’ Fitwel Rating upon recertification. Additional opportunities for improvement currently under consideration, include:

• Enhancing drinking water accessibility
• Expanding healthy food options (e.g. a health vending machine)
• Increasing availability of ‘active workstations’ (i.e. sit-stand desks)

For further information, please contact:

Nicole Carey   Tel: +44 (0)20 7658 4466/ nicole.carey@schroders.com