Optima: Sustainable Design and Wellness @ Deloitte UK

Until recently, the relationship between the wellbeing of the workforce and productivity has been neglected. Above all, Deloitte set out to change this by becoming one of the first UK projects to simultaneously target WELL Building Gold Standard Certification and a BREEAM Refurbishment & Fit Out (RFO) 2014 rating. 

The flagship office exceeded all expectations, achieving a BREEAM score of 94%; the highest score for the sustainability of any global commercial building fit-out at the time.

In parallel, Deloitte also attained WELL Building Gold. This is a prestigious distinction which is awarded by the International WELL Building Institute™ to workplaces that enhance people’s health and wellbeing. In addition, this achievement positions 1 New Street Square as the largest WELL Gold Certified™ commercial interior in the world.

Our standards are high

Launched in 2014, the American WELL Building Standard™ (IWBI™) has gradually made its way to the UK. It is the only building assessment standard to focus entirely on the people who occupy a space. It measures occupant health and wellness by focusing on air, water, nourishment, light, fitness, comfort and mind. Certification is awarded to buildings which meet the standard’s stringent benchmarks. 

The WELL Building Standard is not an environmental standard. However, an alignment between BREEAM and the IWBI™ was announced in November 2016. The idea behind this was to make it more efficient for clients and project teams to pursue both organizations’ respective standards.

Deloitte London acted as both ours and main contractor Overbury’s first WELL Standard project. In short, it was a learning curve for the entire project team. However, our success was achieved due to collaboration between all parties.

To clarify, throughout the duration of the project, we supported the project team by providing bespoke reports on several areas including air VOC reduction, construction pollution management, cleanable environment, and material transparency.

In summation, in order to support Deloitte’s goal to achieve a BREEAM Outstanding rating, our teams worked in close communication with the site teams, ensuring dynamic learning by all. Moreover, we managed our compliance with environmental regulations. An important aspect of this was ensuring that our waste innovation strategy was fully implemented; promoting creative solutions for material re-use and recycling.