Resilience Meets Sustainability Blog Series - Part 4: How Property Resiliency Assessments Complement WELL v2
- 1 day ago
- 5 min read
By Erik Eichenlaub, CEM, WELL AP, LEED GA | Climate Services Director, Nova Group, GBC
Introduction: Continuing Our Series on PRA + Green Building Certifications & Frameworks
As climate change drives increasingly severe environmental challenges, buildings must now go beyond sustainability to address resilience—especially when it comes to protecting occupant health and well-being. At Nova Group, GBC, we believe true building performance integrates both resilience and wellness. In our Resilience Meets Sustainability series, we’re exploring how Property Resiliency Assessments (PRAs) enhance leading green building certifications. Previously, we’ve explored how PRAs align with frameworks like LEED, BREEAM, and Green Globes. Now, in Part 4, we explore the WELL Building Standard v2 and how PRAs can strengthen the framework’s emphasis on health, safety, and thermal resilience.
WELL v2: A Framework for Human Health & Resilient Operations
The WELL Building Standard v2, developed by the International WELL Building Institute (IWBI), is a globally adopted certification program that focuses on promoting human health and well-being in the built environment. Unlike traditional green building systems that focus on environmental performance alone, WELL v2 centers around occupant outcomes—spanning air quality, water, thermal comfort, mental health, lighting, and emergency preparedness.
WELL v2 evaluates performance across 10 core concepts: Air, Water, Nourishment, Light, Movement, Thermal Comfort, Sound, Materials, Mind, and Community. Points are earned by achieving a series of features (preconditions and optimizations), and certification levels range from Bronze to Platinum based on the percentage of points achieved.
While resilience is not a stand-alone category, WELL v2 incorporates it through cross-cutting features that address issues such as air filtration, emergency preparedness, mental health in the face of disruptions, and thermal performance under stress. When paired with a PRA, these features become more actionable and site-specific—enabling buildings to not only meet WELL performance thresholds, but to adapt and thrive under intensifying climate conditions.
What is a Property Resiliency Assessment (PRA)?
A PRA is a systematic evaluation of a building’s exposure and vulnerability to climate-related hazards (e.g., extreme heat, flooding, wildfire smoke) and operational stressors. The PRA identifies potential vulnerabilities across physical systems, site design, occupant operations, and continuity planning. It also recommends mitigation and adaptation measures to ensure building performance, safety, and comfort—especially under chronic stress and acute climatic events. PRAs are aligned with ASTM E3429-24, the national standard for resilience assessments.
Where PRAs Crossover with WELL v2
WELL v2 includes several features that support health-oriented resilience. Below, we explore where PRA findings can directly support or strengthen compliance with WELL v2’s most resilience-relevant sections:
Community Concept - Feature C15: Emergency Preparedness & Resilience
This feature is the clearest connection between PRA methodology and WELL v2. Feature C15 encourages projects to develop emergency plans that account for a range of disruptions, including climate-related events and utility outages. Required elements include continuity planning, communication protocols, training, and provisions for vulnerable populations.
A PRA can serve as a foundational input for this feature by offering a climate- and site-specific understanding of potential risks. PRA outcomes inform the design of emergency preparedness actions, such as backup power systems, occupant communication procedures, and redundancy of critical systems. PRA recommendations can be directly incorporated into WELL documentation for this feature, demonstrating that emergency plans are not generic but tailored to local risk conditions.
Additional Synergies
Air Concept - Features A01-A12
WELL’s Air features require buildings to maintain high indoor air quality through ventilation rates, filtration, and pollutant control. This becomes even more critical during wildfire smoke events, extreme heat days, or poor regional air quality.
PRAs help identify these climate-linked air quality risks and recommend adaptive strategies, such as MERV 13+ filtration, positive pressurization, or the use of dedicated outdoor air systems with recovery. If the PRA identifies wildfire risk, it can inform upgrades that allow buildings to maintain WELL air quality levels even during regional smoke events. Similarly, during power outages, PRAs may recommend battery backup for critical ventilation systems to protect occupant health.
Thermal Comfort Concept - Features T01: Thermal Performance
Maintaining thermal comfort during extreme temperatures—especially without reliance on energy-intensive systems—is increasingly important for health and resilience. Feature T01 encourages the use of HVAC systems or passive features that keep indoor conditions within acceptable ranges during hot or cold conditions.
PRAs evaluate a building’s ability to withstand extreme heat, winter storms, or utility outages. They provide insight into where system redundancies, backup power, or advanced controls can be implemented to sustain indoor conditions during temperature extremes. PRA recommendations also support compliance with Feature T01 by demonstrating that the building can maintain thermal safety under worst-case scenarios.
Water Concept - Features W01-W05
While WELL focuses on water quality (legionella prevention, filtration, monitoring), PRAs add value by expanding the resilience lens to water supply continuity. In regions with drought, extreme storms, or freeze events, water reliability can be compromised.
A PRA may assess both internal water system vulnerabilities (e.g., leak risks, pressure issues) and external supply risks, then recommend strategies like greywater reuse, drought-tolerant landscaping, or emergency water storage. While these measures go beyond WELL minimums, they help maintain WELL-compliant water quality during disruptions—ensuring that clean water is always available.
Why This Crossover Matters
Pairing a PRA with WELL v2 certification enhances the depth and durability of health-centered design:
Operational Health Resilience: PRA-driven strategies help ensure that indoor air quality, thermal comfort, and water access are preserved—even during blackouts, extreme temperatures, or wildfire events.
Site-Specific Preparedness: WELL’s health and wellness goals become more targeted when paired with PRA data specific to regional hazards and adaptive capacity.
Health Equity and Climate Justice: PRAs help identify vulnerable populations and ensure emergency strategies are inclusive—aligning directly with WELL’s equity and community-focused goals.
By combining the scientific rigor of a PRA with WELL’s health-oriented framework, buildings are not only healthier day-to-day—they’re safer and more resilient when it matters most.
What’s Next in the Series?
This post explores how PRAs align with WELL v2 to support building health, occupant safety, and climate resilience.
In Part 5, we’ll turn to GRESB (Global Real Estate Sustainability Benchmark)—the leading ESG reporting framework for real assets—to examine how PRAs strengthen its Risk Management and Resilience indicators. We’ll explore how integrating PRA findings into GRESB submissions enhances transparency, improves ESG scores, and demonstrates proactive management of physical climate risks across portfolios.
Are you pursuing WELL certification or interested in learning more about Property Resiliency Assessments? Share your insights or questions in the comments and let us know which green building framework you’d like us to cover next! For tailored support, reach out to Nova Group, GBC to explore how we can help advance your resilience and sustainability objectives.
🪪 Erik Eichenlaub, CEM, WELL AP, LEED GA | Climate Services Director
erik.eichenlaub@novagroupgbc.com | (610) 283-1632
👉 Learn more about our Climate Risk & Resiliency Services: Climate Risk & Resiliency | Nova Group, GBC
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