NEW YORK, NY / ACCESS Newswire / February 11, 2026 / International WELL Building Institute (IWBI)
WELL APs and WELL Faculty recognized for outsized contributions to people-first places and organizations in 2025 | Global and Fortune 500 companies and world-class real estate portfolios recognized for leveraging WELL to make extraordinary strides in health, well-being and performance in 2025
The International WELL Building Institute (IWBI), the global authority for advancing healthy buildings, organizations and communities, today announced the winners of the annual 2025 IWBI Community Awards and the 2025 IWBI Organizational Awards. This year, through the presentation of more than 200 total awards, we celebrate outstanding individual leaders from IWBI’s WELL Faculty and WELL Accredited Professional (WELL AP) community who are being recognized for their impassioned leadership and advocacy, as well as Global and Fortune 500 companies and world class real estate portfolios that are using WELL as a roadmap to prioritize people and performance.
For the first time, IWBI opened nominations for the awards to the public, receiving more than 400 submissions that speak to the depth and breadth of leadership of the WELL movement. New in 2025, more than 20 WELL Project Awards recognize projects that have displayed exemplary use of WELL strategies to promote people-first places. Nominations were submitted for projects that have shown exceptional leadership, innovation and impact.
The winners of the 2025 IWBI Community Awards are providing organizations with people-first solutions to meet the rising demand for health. WELL Faculty and WELL APs-a community of 29,000 people in 135 countries who have obtained or are working toward the professional credential denoting expertise in WELL-have worked hand-in-hand with organizations pursuing IWBI’s achievements under the WELL Standard, including pursuit of WELL Certification, WELL ratings and applying WELL at scale, now collectively spanning more than 6 billion square feet in nearly 100,000 locations across nearly 140 countries.
2025 Community Award honorees hail from 22 countries covering all corners of the globe. Among the new awards IWBI is presenting this year, the WELL Executive Awards recognize C-suite level executives who play a very active role in expanding the adoption of WELL, and the Visionary Leadership Awards recognize individuals for exceptional leadership in advancing WELL principles through client education and cross-industry collaboration in their region. IWBI will also honor 12 innovators breaking new ground in emerging markets, 11 Changemakers driving market transformation and two revolutionary Educators of the Year. This year’s winning roster also includes Rising Stars making waves, one fearless Project Steward supporting exceptional numbers of WELL projects and four WELL APs advancing WELL in their respective regions. One of the most prestigious honors each year, the 2025 WELL AP of the Year, is awarded to Ken Fong, who currently serves as Director of Human-Centered Design at E-LAB Consulting in Melbourne, Australia.
“We are proud to recognize the 2025 Community Award honorees, the visionaries catalyzing a global shift toward people-first places. The healthy building movement’s evolution is a direct result of their tireless dedication and resolve,” said IWBI President and CEO Rachel Hodgdon. “These leaders aren’t just making an impact; they are fundamentally redefining their industries and forging the future of WELL.”
The 2025 IWBI Organizational Awards celebrate organizations around the world that have demonstrated exceptional leadership and impact at scale, leveraging WELL to drive forward healthy buildings and organizations of all types. Among the organizations being recognized this year are Global and Fortune 500 companies, including CBRE, Cisco, Citigroup, JLL, JPMorgan Chase & Co., Panasonic, Sanofi and Uber, as well as world-class real estate portfolios, including those led by Embassy Office Parks, Empire State Realty Trust, Lendlease, Swire Properties and Vornado.
Dozens of award recipients from around the world, spanning a variety of industries and sectors, highlight the incredible global demand for WELL and its evidence-based strategies to enhance employee health, productivity and well-being. These leading companies and organizations are also helping propel an extraordinary wave of adoption of WELL.
“The organizations we honor today have done more than commit to a philosophy-they have prioritized human health across their entire portfolios,” added Hodgdon. “We are proud to partner with these leaders as they set a new global benchmark for excellence, working with WELL to directly improve the lives of more than 30 million people through their bold actions.”
The majority of award recipients are leveraging WELL at scale, which enables organizations to measure and improve organizational health performance across their locations over time and the impacts on people inside the spaces. Organizations using WELL at scale in 2025 identified their top reasons for engaging in the program, which include attracting and retaining talent and/or tenants (77%); increasing engagement among employees and/or tenants (70%); enhancing social sustainability performance (73%); improving building performance (73%); and delivering on complementary people and planet strategies (68%). The WELL concepts and well-being issues that ranked highest in priority for organizations engaged in WELL at scale are Air (78%), Water (66%), Community (65%) and Mind/mental health (58%). A sampling of the top features achieved across WELL at scale locations includes developing emergency preparedness plans (C03.1), supporting mental health recovery (M03.4), promoting health benefits (C06.1) and improving cleaning practices (X11.1).
Locations in Oceania achieved the highest average performance of any region globally as measured by their WELL Scores. Europe achieved the second highest average regional performance. When measured by sector, companies in the real estate sector performed highest.
New awards presented at the organizational level in 2025 include the Coworking Leadership Award which recognizes organizations with a significant number of WELL Coworking Rated locations across their enrolled portfolio; IWBI Member of the Year which honors an IWBI Member organization for exceptional leadership, impact and collaboration in advancing IWBI’s mission, driving measurable change and uplifting the global WELL community; and Consultant of the Year which recognizes consulting companies for supporting the implementation of WELL in their region (Americas, Europe, Oceania and Asia).
The Global WELL Leadership Award recognizes organizations with the highest WELL Scores, reflecting progress towards implementing WELL strategies and serving as a benchmark for health and well-being performance against peers. The four honorees are Lendlease International Towers Sydney Trust (LITS) and Lendlease One International Towers Sydney Trust (LOITS); Embassy REIT; Barclays; and Citi.
Also of note is the Healthy Building Catalyst Award, which recognizes organizations for going above and beyond to develop a dedicated team for implementing WELL strategies and/or promote their commitment to health and well-being to the public, including through organizational reporting, public relations or a related event. Recipients include the following: Empire State Realty Trust; MSD (Merck Sharp & Dohme) – Global Commercial Offices (JCAP, EMEA, LATAM); Sanofi S.A.; Standard Chartered Bank; Kerry Properties Limited; and Gmp Property SOCIMI S.A.
The WELL Concept Awards highlight each of the 10 categories of human health addressed by WELL. The WELL Mind Award, which recognizes organizations for significant achievement within the Mind Concept of the WELL Standard, was presented to Deloitte US Firms.
What some of our award recipients are saying:
WELL AP of the Year – Ken Fong, Director of Human-Centered Design, E-LAB Consulting: “I’m deeply honored by this individual recognition, but I view it as a collective victory for my team at E-LAB Consulting. I want to also acknowledge the incredible global WELL AP community for your enriching input into my life. A huge thank you to all my mentors, friends, collaborators, clients and supporters. From my early role as an acoustic consultant (when I first got involved with WELL), to my current role which is more holistically focused, it has been an honour to be on the journey with IWBI in accelerating adoption of healthy building principles. If this award inspires many others to design buildings that amplify human health and well-being – that’s the real win!”
Vanessa Orth, Managing Director, Lendlease Investment Management Australia: “Lendlease continues to lead the industry in advancing health and well-being across the built environment across international markets, reinforcing the value this creates for our customers, investors and communities. We have once again demonstrated how WELL’s evidence-based strategies can be applied at scale to deliver healthier, more sustainable and productive workplaces. Our ongoing collaboration with the International WELL Building Institute (IWBI), whose leadership in shaping global health-focused building standards has been integral to this progress, supports our commitment to enhancing the experience, well-being and performance of the people who use our places every day.” Lendlease was awarded several awards, including the Global WELL Leadership Award – Fewer than 50 locations; the Regional WELL Leadership Award – Oceania; the Health and Safety Leadership Award; and WELL Concept Awards for Community, Materials and Nourishment.
Healthy Building Catalyst Award – Ömer Döne, Global Head of Sustainable Workplace, Sanofi: “At Sanofi, we believe that creating healthy workplaces is an extension of our core mission to chase the miracles of science to improve people’s lives. Receiving the Healthy Building Catalyst Award validates our commitment to ensuring that the spaces where our teams work every day support their health, well-being and ability to deliver for patients worldwide. We’re proud to be part of a global movement that recognizes the profound impact our built environments have on human health, and deeply honored that IWBI has recognized Sanofi’s dedication to leading by example in sustainable workplace design.”
Healthy Building Catalyst Award – Lisa James-Holmes, Global Lead, WELL at Scale – Commercial Offices, MSD: “WELL at Scale provides a disciplined, evidence-based way to embed health, wellbeing, and performance into the day-to-day operation of our commercial offices. Across MSD’s JCAP, EMEA and LATAM regions, independently certified and rated workplaces are being delivered through a small global program team working in close partnership with local site leads, enabling healthier experiences for occupants, stronger operational performance, and a more consistent workplace experience. This approach reflects a long-term focus on people, sustainable assets, and organisational resilience.”
Each of these award-winning individuals and organizations will be recognized during WELL 2026, IWBI’s global event series hosted in cities around the world.
For more information about WELL, please visit www.wellcertified.com.
Notes to Editors:
The 2025 WELL at scale leaderboard and awards are based on data from the last completed review cycle of WELL at scale participants through December 31, 2025. Awards are available only to organizations or entities with five or more enrolled locations.
Organizations engaging with WELL across their entire enterprise receive a WELL Score, which serves as a dynamic metric to benchmark portfolio performance, identify new opportunities for impact and communicate real-time excellence to stakeholders.
About the International WELL Building Institute
The International WELL Building Institute (IWBI) is a public benefit corporation and the global authority for transforming health and well-being in buildings, organizations and communities. In pursuit of its public-health mission, IWBI mobilizes its community through the development and administration of the WELL Building Standard (WELL), WELL for residential, WELL Community Standard, its WELL ratings and management of the WELL AP credential. IWBI also translates research into practice, develops educational resources and advocates for policies that promote people-first places for everyone, everywhere. More information on WELL can be found here.
International WELL Building Institute, IWBI, the WELL Building Standard, WELL v2, WELL Certified, WELL AP, WELL EP, WELL Score, The WELL Conference, We Are WELL, the WELL Community Standard, WELL Health-Safety Rated, WELL Performance Rated, WELL Equity Rated, WELL Equity, WELL Coworking Rated, WELL Residence, Works with WELL, WELL and others, and their related logos are trademarks or certification marks of International WELL Building Institute pbc in the United States and other countries.
Media contact: media@wellcertified.com
Appendix:
The IWBI Community Award winners are as follows:
Ken Fong – WELL AP of the Year
Andr̩s F. Schwarz; Ashish Pandya; Clare Gallagher; Dengyao Tsao; Hidekazu Sawada; Jennifer Harding; Josh Jackman; Kimberley Beaumont; Qiang Zhang; Shaghayegh (Shaya) Riazi РChangemaker Award
Khee Poh Lam; Rachel Vig – Educators of the Year Award
Ahmad Altibi; Chompunuch Sangkanchanavanich; Duygu Erten; Federico Steinvorth; Keith Cassie; Keith Lei; Lisa Hinde; Manoranjani Rajendran; Micaela Smulevich; Piya Verma; Praveen Kumar; Wendong Li – Emerging Market Award
D.B. Zender – WELL Forum Influencer Award
Adolfa MarÃa Muñoz del Campo; Anthony Marklund; Devan Valenti; Emily Billheimer; Felicity Lee; Jaymie Anne Malicsi; Jie Min Ong; Marcela Patricia Guerra Romero; Sachiko Watanabe – Global Adoption of WELL Award
Kai Wen Teng – Performance Testing Agent of the Year Award
Andrea Villalobos; Cipactly Caballero; Garry Magee; Ilia Sokolinskii; India Golding; Jamali Kigotho; Jihyun Park; Jiye Wu; Johanna Turko; Komal Jain; Laura Cowie; Robert Crawford – Rising Star Award
Abhijit Zacharia; Candi Hampton; Chris Higgins; Hosanna Elarmo; Michelle Lam; Plum Stone; Priyanka Kanagalingam; Teresa McGrath; Tiexin Chen; Wallace Lin – Visionary Leadership Award
Curtis Chan – WELL AP Regional Leadership Award (China)
Hrisa Gatzoulis – WELL AP Regional Leadership Award (Americas)
Maria Vicidomini – WELL AP Regional Leadership Award (EMEA)
Yoshi Murakami – WELL AP Regional Leadership Award (APAC)
Andre Marin; Andrew Cole; Beata Kepowicz; Gie Garcia; Grace Kwok; Liam Bates – WELL Executive Award
Mariana Pallares – WELL Project Steward Award
The IWBI Organizational Award winners are as follows:
Delos Group; Laguna – Building Performance Leadership Award
WSP Global, Inc. – Consultant of the Year Award – Americas
EMSI (Environmental Market Solutions Inc.); Panasonic Holdings Corporation – Consultant of the Year Award – Asia
SuReal – Consultant of the Year Award – Europe
E-LAB Consulting – Consultant of the Year Award – Oceania
KMC Community, Inc – Coworking Leadership Award
Awfis Space Solutions – Coworking spaces; Brookprop Management Services Pvt. Ltd; Cisco Systems Inc; Empire State Realty Trust; Genentech; KMC Community, Inc; NEO; Sunrise Senior Living; Veris Residential – Equity Leadership Award
Barclays – Global WELL Leadership Award – 100 to 499 locations
Embassy REIT – Global WELL Leadership Award – 50 to 99 locations
Citi – Global WELL Leadership Award – 500 or more locations
Lendlease International Towers Sydney Trust (LITS) and Lendlease One International Towers Sydney Trust (LOITS) – Global WELL Leadership Award – Fewer than 50 locations
Bagmane Group; Bloomberg L.P. Global Portfolio; Cadillac Fairview – Select Offices; Cisco Systems Inc; Citi Global; DLF Commercial and Retail; Dream Office REIT; Embassy REIT; Empire State Realty Trust; JPMorgan Chase & Co.; KinderCare Learning Companies; KMC Community, Inc; Lendlease APPF, LITS and LOITS; M Moser Associates Ltd.; NEO; Royal Bank of Canada; RXR Realty; Standard Chartered Bank; Sunrise Senior Living; Swire Properties – Pacific Place Portfolio; T-Mobile – Corporate Owned Locations; Uber- Global Talent Hubs and Regional; Priority Offices; Vornado Realty Trust – Health and Safety Leadership Award
EDGE Technologies – EDGE developments, Europe; Hongkong Land – Central Portfolio; Nan Fung Group Real Estate – Operating; Swire Properties – Pacific Place Portfolio; Swire Properties – Taikoo Place Portfolio – WELL Air Award
Empire State Realty Trust, Inc.; Gmp Property SOCIMI S.A.; Kerry Properties Limited; MSD (Merck Sharp & Dohme) – Global Commercial Offices (JCAP, EMEA, LATAM); Sanofi S.A.; Standard Chartered Bank – Healthy Building Catalyst Award
Epsten Group, Inc., A Salas O’Brien Company – IWBI Member of the Year Award
Atenor Group SA – Leadership in Sustainability Reporting Award
Cbus Property Commercial Unit Trust; Genentech; MSD – Commercial Offices Portfolio (JCAP, EMEA, LATAM) – Outstanding Health Progress Award
JPMorgan Chase & Co. – People First Award – Non-Real Estate
Hang Lung Mainland and Hong Kong Portfolios – People First Award – Real Estate
Citi – Regional WELL Leadership Award – Africa
Barclays – Regional WELL Leadership Award – Americas
The Hongkong Land Property Company, Limited – Regional WELL Leadership Award – Asia
Edge Technologies Contract B.V. – Regional WELL Leadership Award – Europe
Lendlease International Towers Sydney Trust (LITS) and Lendlease One International Towers Sydney Trust (LOITS) – Regional WELL Leadership Award – Oceania
Awfis Space Solutions Private Limited; Bupa Arabia; Globe Forest Low Carbon Technology (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. (Maratti); SSM Health; Standard Bank Group Limited – Rising Star Award
CapitaLand Development – Sustainable Finance Award
Properties – Pacific Place Portfolio; Swire Properties – Taikoo Place Portfolio – WELL Air Award
Jones Lang LaSalle, Inc. (JLL) – WELL AP Impact Award
Embassy REIT; Jones Lang LaSalle, Inc. (JLL) – WELL Certification Leadership Award
Bagmane Group; Brookprop Management Services Pvt. Ltd; Genentech; KMC Community, Inc; Lendlease APPF, LITS and LOITS; NEO; Sunrise Senior Living – WELL Community Award
CBRE Group, Inc.; En3 Sustainability Solutions – WELL Enterprise Provider of the Year Award
Bloomberg L.P. Global Portfolio; Cbus Property (Commercial Office); EY US – Office Portfolio; Precinct Properties; Swire Properties – Pacific Place Portfolio; Swire Properties – Taikoo Place Portfolio; Veris Residential – WELL Innovation Award
EDGE Technologies – EDGE developments, Europe; Nan Fung Group Real Estate – Operating; Walker Corporation – Select Offices and University – WELL Light Award
Grupo Gmp Properties – Direct Managed Offices; Investa; Lendlease APPF, LITS and LOITS; Nan Fung Group Real Estate – Operating; Swire Properties – Pacific Place Portfolio; Tata Realty & Infrastructure Limited – WELL Materials Award
Deloitte US Firms – WELL Mind Award
Bagmane Group; EDGE Technologies – EDGE developments, Europe; Embassy REIT; Hongkong Land – Central Portfolio; Swire Properties – Pacific Place Portfolio; Swire Properties – Taikoo Place Portfolio – WELL Movement Award
Lendlease APPF, LITS and LOITS – WELL Nourishment Award
SAP – Select APAC Offices – WELL Sound Award
Swire Properties – Pacific Place Portfolio – WELL Thermal Comfort Award
Nan Fung Group Real Estate – Operating; Swire Properties – Pacific Place Portfolio; Swire Properties – Taikoo Place Portfolio – WELL Water Award
The WELL Project Award winners are as follows:
?????? Gloryview Technology Headquarters; Co-operators 101 Cooper Dr – People & Planet Award
BNP Paribas Fortis Montagne du Parc – Warandeberg; Dai-ichi Life HQ project; EDIFICIO CORPORATIVO GRUPO EDISUR; Project Emerald – Innovative Design Award
Globant Tower; oxxeo – Recertification; Sanofi Singapore – Outstanding Strategy Award
Ayala Corporation Office; Hospital Oncopediatrico Erasto Gaertner – Erastinho; MGM Cotai; MGM Macau; Sella 137 – Vanguard Award
HKRI Taikoo Hui; MENARCO Tower – Recertification; Trico LivingWell – Champion Award
311 Third; CENTERFIELD; Panattoni BTS – Research & development Center Office, phase 1 – Tenneco, Gliwice; Thomas Dixon Centre: Queensland Ballet Headquarters and Studios – Unique Impact Award
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SOURCE: International WELL Building Institute (IWBI)
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