DSE1: Health & Well-Being
Maximum Score
2 points
Input Method
Assessment Portal
Prefill
Eligible
Scoring method
Static
Validation
Other answer is manually validated
2026 Updates
None
Does the entity take measures to incorporate occupant health & well-being in its development projects?
Assessment Instructions
Intent: What is the purpose of this indicator?
This indicator assesses the entity’s strategy for designing and constructing buildings that promote occupant health and well-being. Buildings designed with occupant health and well-being in mind lead to increased employee satisfaction and greater productivity.
Input: How do I complete this indicator?
Select all applicable sub-options for (1) requirements for planning and design, (2) common occupant health and well-being measures, and (3) operational occupant health and well-being verification provisions.
Post-construction monitoring: If the entity has requirement(s) on post-construction performance monitoring, specify the required number of years. If the entity monitors performance for an infinite period, enter “100.”
Terminology
Acoustic comfort
Minimizing sound to promote mental well-being and in some instances, physical ear health. This could include building design and materials selection to promote acoustic comfort for users and efforts to protect the ear health of construction and industrial workers as well as mechanisms to limit noise disturbances in communities surrounding the entity’s assets during both construction and operations.
Active design features
Design features specifically aimed to positively contribute towards occupant health and well-being, e.g. centrally located staircases to get occupants to be more active.
Biophilic design
Design that draws upon the innate connection between humans and nature. This includes direct connections with nature, access to views, place-based design and interior design that includes plants, water and/or symbolic connections to nature through images, colors, and shapes.
Commissioning
Quality-orientated review and verification process during the design and construction phase, to ensure that the performance of facilities, systems and assemblies meet defined objectives during the operational phase.
Daylight
The capacity of a building to provide maximum daylight exposure to occupants, via building design (e.g. angle of orientation, number of and size of windows) and material (e.g. reflective coatings) features. Maximizing daylight exposure not only benefits occupant health and well-being, but also can reduce the need for artificial light, and therefore energy expenditure.
Ergonomic workplace
Aims to increase efficiency and productivity and reduce discomfort in the workplace.
Health Impact Assessment
A mean of assessing the health impacts of policies, plans and projects using quantitative, qualitative and participatory techniques.
Humidity
A measure of the concentration of water vapor present in the air.
Illumination
Light falling on a surface per unit area, measured in lux.
Inclusive design
Design that accommodates individuals of different religions, genders and gender identities, ages, ethnicities and ability levels. This could include the provision of multi-faith space, lactation room, age-friendly design and/or accessible design.
Indoor air quality
The physical or biological characteristics of air within buildings. Indoor air quality (IAQ) is typically the product of outdoor quality mediated by the design and operation of building systems.
Integrated planning process
A planning process that considers and involves multiple aspects, stakeholders and functions, instead of addressing each separately, to align and achieve objectives.
Natural ventilation
The process of supplying and removing air through an indoor space without using mechanical systems. There are two types of natural ventilation occurring in buildings: wind driven ventilation and buoyancy-driven ventilation.
Occupant controls
Individual controls for heating, cooling and other building systems. They support individual comfort of building occupants, while reducing energy consumption. Occupant controls also enable occupants to respond rapidly to alleviate discomfort when it is experienced.
Occupant education
Education and training of building occupants to increase knowledge on sustainability principles and the benefits to their health and well-being, including behavioral change and techniques.
Occupant well-being
Health and comfort of building occupants. Healthy indoor environments (including indoor air quality, thermal comfort, lighting, visual quality and acoustic performance) are an essential part of realizing the potential benefits of occupant well-being.
Physical activity
Promotion of health-focused physical activity events and access to spaces designated for recreation, including but not limited to green spaces, picnic areas, sport facilities, or children’s playgrounds.
Post-construction health and well-being monitoring
A structured approach towards measuring and managing the health and well-being of occupants, such as occupant comfort and satisfaction.
Provisions for active transport
Active transport is transport via walking or bicycling. Provisions for active transport include designating safe and accessible pedestrian walkways as a building design measure, bike storage areas and shower facilities.
Thermal comfort
The thermal environment including air temperature, speed and humidity can impact employee thermal comfort. Research suggests that thermal comfort contributes to employee productivity and well-being.
Water quality
Reduction of water contamination risk and provision of clean fresh sources of water.
Validation: What evidence is required?
No evidence required. Only the 'Other' answer is manually validated.
Other Answer
Other: State the requirement for planning and design.
Other: State the health and well-being measure. Measures must be related to the physical building. Location-related measures (e.g., walkability, proximity to public transport, or to nearby amenities) are not valid.
Other: State the method for monitoring health and well-being measures.
It is possible to add multiple other answers. If multiple other answers are acceptable, only one will be counted towards scoring.
Scoring
Scoring: How does GRESB score this indicator?
The scoring of this indicator is equal to the sum of the fractions assigned to the selected options and respective sub-options, multiplied by the total score of the indicator.
Other: The 'Other' answer is manually validated and assigned a score which is used as a multiplying factor, as per the table below:
Accepted
1/1
Not Accepted
0
Duplicate
0
References
LEED BD+C: New Construction, v4, Indoor Environmental Quality
BREEAM, International New Construction, 2016: 06 Health and well-being
BREEAM, UK New Construction, 2018: Health and Wellbeing
GRI Sustainability Reporting Standards, 2016: GRI 416; 416-1
Get Support: Solution Providers
GRESB Solution Providers are independent, third-party organizations within the GRESB Partner network that offer specialized products, tools, and services to support sustainability performance outside the GRESB Assessment process.
Currently, there are no GRESB Solution Providers associated with this indicator.
GRESB will continue to update this section as the GRESB Solution Provider network grows. Please check back regularly to find GRESB Solution Providers who can support your sustainability performance.
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