Floth, has been awarded WELL pre-certification for its Brisbane headquarters. The prestigious distinction was awarded through WELL v2, the latest version of the WELL Building Standard (WELL) from the International WELL Building Institute (IWBI).
The announcement marks Queensland’s first WELL v2 certification, while Floth has also received
the highest level of certification – Platinum. An independently-verified, performance-based system for measuring, certifying and monitoring features of buildings that impact human health and wellbeing, WELL uses metrics such as air, water, nourishment, light, movement, thermal comfort, sound, materials, mind and community.
WELL is grounded in a body of evidence-based research that explores the connection between the
buildings where we spend approximately 90 percent of our time, and the health and wellness
impacts on the people inside these buildings.
Floth’s head office, located at 69 Robertson Street in Brisbane’s vibrant suburb of Fortitude Valley,
incorporates an optimised building design and construction that places it among the most
sustainable buildings in the world.
The architectural design consists of three storeys of office space, which were developed by the
company during 2015, with the building services engineering and sustainability design undertaken
in-house.
Key features such as green trellis walls, drought-tolerant plantings, sustainable material selection,
indoor air quality initiatives, low carbon electrical systems, water conservation and energy efficiency measures, have contributed to 69 Robertson Street’s recognition by the IWBI.
“What is clear is that our buildings have a profound impact on our health, wellbeing and
productivity, and that’s why the existence of the WELL standards, as a way of measuring this, are so
important,” said Floth Group Managing Director Glenn Ralph.
“WELL is the first and most robust building standard to focus exclusively on human health and
wellness, and as such, we are exceptionally proud to receive this recognition.
“When we set out to design and construct this building in 2015, we wanted to create a showcase for
our role as sustainable building consultants – and certifications such as this confirm that we’ve
delivered what we set out to achieve.”
In order to receive WELL pre-certification from the IWBI, 69 Robertson Street underwent a rigorous
review carried out by Green Business Certification Inc. (GBCI), which is the third-party certification
body for WELL, to ensure it met all WELL pre-certification performance requirements.
WELL pre-certification is an optional step in the certification process for WELL projects, which
allows registered projects to review the work already completed and confirm that they are on the
correct path towards achieving certification.
As such, 69 Robert Street is set to be awarded full WELL certification following a final evaluation by
GBCI.
The announcement comes following 69 Robertson Street’s recognition in early 2020 as the only
building in Australia, and one of only three in the world, nominated as a ‘Game Changer’ in the
World Green Building Council (WorldGBC) Online Case Study Library.
The WorldGBC Library showcases the most cutting-edge examples of sustainable building from
around the world, with each case study demonstrating a building that has enhanced performance
in relation to health benefits and net zero operational carbon, as verified by established
certification schemes, rating tools or other verification systems.
The building is also famed for achieving a hat-trick of firsts in Australia, including the first six-star
Green Star Design and As Built v1.1 certified rating in the country and the first six-star National
Australian Built Environment Rating System (NABERS) indoor environment rating.
69 Robertson Street has been recognised as the first building to publicly adopt the Australian
Sustainable Built Environment Council (ASBEC) Zero Carbon Standard Building definition by virtue
of highly energy-efficient design, 28% on-site renewable energy contribution from a roof-mounted
photovoltaic system and 100% ‘greenpower’ purchase to offset remaining operational emissions.
Other national and international awards include:
• First Australian winner of the Leadership in Sustainable Design and Performance category
at the 2016 World Green Building Council Asia Pacific Leadership in Green Building Awards
• Winner of the Consultants Excellence category at the 2016 UDIA (Qld) Awards for Excellence
• Winner of the Best Sustainable Development – New Buildings award at the 2017 Property
Council of Australia Innovation and Excellence Awards
• Winner of the Energex Award for Sustainability in Business at the 2017 Brisbane Lord
Mayor’s Business Awards
Additionally, the building has been recognised as the first Climate Active Carbon Neutral building in
Queensland, in conjunction with the achievement of 5.5-star NABERS Energy (without GreenPower)
rating and 6-Star (with Green Power) rating, as well as a 6-star NABERS Water rating.