Author: sHq_LoGiNz

Backed by more than twice the research and citations, the second edition of the Investing in Health Pays Back report establishes well-being as a definitive business imperative, featuring an extensive body of evidence showing how prioritizing health fuels productivity, strengthens retention and recruitment and enhances real estate value.

NEW YORK, September 16, 2025 /3BL/ – The International WELL Building Institute (IWBI) today released the second edition of its landmark report, Investing in Health Pays Back: The Business Case for Healthy Buildings and Healthy Organizations, offering a singular resource that brings together the largest collection of research to date that links investments in health and well-being to measurable economic returns.

The new report, released as the second edition, more than doubles the research and citations from the original, integrating academic studies, industry data and real-world case studies. This report offers a clear answer to a pressing question facing practitioners today: how should future projects be shaped to elevate human health while unlocking significant economic value? Collectively, it also makes a powerful case to policymakers, real estate leaders and institutional investors that investing in people is not just the right thing to do—it’s one of the smartest economic strategies organizations can pursue.

“We’ve gathered and distilled into one indispensable resource the strongest global evidence to date linking healthy buildings with human well-being and performance,” said IWBI President and CEO Rachel Hodgdon. “Whether you’re an investor, developer, architect, engineer or advocate, by giving you the data and insights you need to make the case for healthier buildings and the value of WELL, together we’re building the foundation for a healthier future.”

Among the report’s key findings:

• Investing in holistic employee health could generate nearly $12 trillion in global economic value and boost global GDP by up to 12%, according to a McKinsey Health Institute study.
• Improved ventilation can increase employee productivity up to $7,500 per person per year, according to a study led by Harvard researchers.
• Certified healthy buildings command rent premiums of 4% to7%, according to two independent studies, one from MIT researchers and another from researchers at the University of Cambridge.
• WELL Certified buildings report significantly higher employee satisfaction compared to non-certified buildings, including 18% more satisfied with access to sunlight, 17% more satisfied with acoustical privacy, 16% more satisfied with connection to the outdoor environment, 12% more satisfied with lighting, 11% more satisfied with thermal comfort and 10% more satisfied with both indoor air quality and air movement.
• Occupants in WELL Certified buildings are 39% more likely to report satisfaction with the building compared to those in green-certified buildings.

“With this report, we’re equipping everyone across IWBI’s global community with the data they need to drive faster adoption of healthy building practices,” said Dr. Jason Hartke, the lead author and IWBI’s Executive Vice President for External Affairs and Global Advocacy. “The message is clear: prioritizing health delivers measurable returns across productivity, talent retention, real estate value and operational resilience.”

The report also explores the rising importance of social sustainability, showing how health-related metrics are being embedded into sustainable finance vehicles—including green, social and sustainability-linked bonds—and reshaping investment decisions at scale. To date, WELL has been incorporated in 13 different types of financial instruments—including green bonds, social bonds and sustainability-linked bonds and loans—and featured in sustainable finance frameworks, regulatory guides, reports and case studies in 29 countries, spanning five continents.

Read the full report at: https://www.wellcertified.com/health-pays-back/

Quotes from the Report:

“Buildings—the places where each of us spends roughly 90% of our lives – must be at the heart of the solution to foster wellness and deliver positive health outcomes at scale, not to mention the many economic benefits for organizations implementing these science-backed strategies,” said Dr. Richard Carmona, 17th Surgeon General of the United States.

“What we see now—more clearly than ever—is that investing in healthy buildings and organizations is one of the smartest, most immediate returns we can make,” said Professor Alessandro Miani, Italian Society of Environmental Medicine (SIMA) and University of Milan. “It not only protects and enhances human health, but also creates a host of powerful economic benefits, such as increasing real estate value, boosting productivity, and improving efforts to attract and retain top talent. Investing in health has clearly become a business imperative.”

“Transforming the health and well-being of the places and spaces where we live, work and gather presents an unprecedented opportunity to improve public health—while unlocking incredible economic value for organizations,” said Rick Fedrizzi, Executive Chairman, IWBI. “After all, people are the single largest investment of any organization, accounting for 90% of expenses. By linking healthier environments to measurable gains in productivity, satisfaction and retention, the findings enable organizations to move beyond intuition and make data-driven decisions that enhance their human capital strategy.”

“Employers increasingly recognize that accommodating individuals who think differently can provide a huge competitive advantage,” said Kay Sargent, author of Designing Neuroinclusive Workplaces.

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

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We’re proud to partner with the American Red Cross to bring hope and healing to our communities through our employee Blood Drives. 

This year, 72 of our incredible employees donated blood, including 28 first-time donors. Together, they collected 75 blood products – including plasma and whole blood donations – potentially saving hundreds of lives. 

We’re also taking part in the Red Cross “Sleeves Up” campaign. With 53 donation pledges already made toward our goal of 100, our employees continue to show what it means to help make our communities brighter. 

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Cummins

The Cummins Inc. RePower Program is a paid returnship designed to empower professionals who have been away from the workforce for at least two years. Through this six-month paid assignment, participants gain the opportunity to apply their specialized expertise, interests, life experiences and skills in fields such as IT, engineering and supply chain planning. The program includes training, coaching, development and networking events, with the potential for full-time employment opportunities upon completion. For professionals like Amy, who are reentering the workforce after a career break, such programs can be life-changing.

Amy began her career in product and process development at a flexible packaging company, collaborating closely with customers to create innovative packaging solutions. She also spent time documenting crucial manufacturing processes for transfer to new facilities. After completing a major project in her engineering role, Amy decided to pursue a career outside of engineering. While this shift allowed her to acquire valuable skills in communication, teamwork, and adaptability, she soon realized she missed using data to guide decisions. This realization prompted her to return to engineering, choosing Cummins because of its values, mission, and professional growth opportunities.

Amy discovered the Cummins RePower Program through the Society of Women Engineers’ STEM Reentry initiative. “The application process was straightforward. I submitted my application online and received a response within 24 hours. My interview was scheduled with a panel a few weeks later, and I was offered a position shortly after.”

The returnship program provided Amy with a chance to connect with a community within a large organization like Cummins. Throughout the program, she attended regular check-ins and meetings, gaining valuable insights from those who had completed the program and now worked full-time at Cummins. “My favorite part of the program was the opportunity to meet in small groups and get to know the other returnship participants and our mentors better.”

Through the RePower Program, Amy not only acquired new skills but also made significant connections. She shared her experiences with others returning to STEM, which helped her navigate her reentry into the field. The program’s support system greatly impacted her, allowing her to feel connected and supported every step of the way.

When Amy transitioned from the program to her full-time role, she remained on the same team and continued to handle many of the tasks she had during the program. She was also entrusted with additional responsibilities. The skills she gained during her career break, combined with what she learned through the RePower Program, have contributed to her success in her current position. Amy currently serves as a Certification and Compliance Lead at Cummins, where she plays a key role in assisting New Product Development teams with formal compliance reviews throughout the development process.

The structure and support provided by the returnship program helped Amy navigate the extensive organization that is Cummins. The program guided her on where to find resources, whom to ask for help, and provided a space to share experiences with others. This sense of structure made it easier for her to transition and visualize her future career within Cummins.

Amy highly recommends the Cummins RePower Program to anyone looking to reenter the STEM workforce. “I feel so fortunate that I found the program and that opportunities like this exist for those trying to rejoin STEM fields.” She believes it’s an incredible opportunity to gain the support and connections needed for successful reintegration into the field. Amy is thankful for the program and the doors it has opened for her within Cummins.

HONG KONG, September 16, 2025 /3BL/ – Cascale has acquired key assets of the nonprofit Sustainable Furnishings Council (SFC), the only industry-wide member organization dedicated to advancing sustainability in home furnishings. After expanding beyond apparel into the wider consumer goods industry, which includes home furnishings, Cascale leads the drive to combat climate change and support decent work across the value chain. At Cascale’s 2025 Annual Meeting in Hong Kong, Rick Ridgeway, author, former Patagonia executive, and Cascale co-founder, joined Scarlette Tapp, SFC Executive Director, to announce the key asset acquisition.

SFC services will now be delivered by Cascale, while SFC continues as a membership organisation for a transitional period. This means SFC members benefit from the same trusted brand — with expanded global support and expertise from Cascale.

“From the beginning, Cascale has worked to unite industries around a shared vision: tackling climate change and supporting decent work throughout the value chain,” said Rick Ridgeway, author, former Patagonia executive, and Cascale co-founder. “Sustainability cannot be siloed — it must be systemic, spanning every sector that touches people and the planet.”

“For nearly two decades, SFC has worked to embed sustainability in the DNA of the home furnishings industry,” said Scarlette Tapp, Executive Director, Sustainable Furnishings Council. “Cascale will ensure that this legacy will not only continue, but scale globally — supporting businesses that are committed to reducing their environmental footprint and improving social outcomes.”

“Cascale is evolving as the leading industry association for sustainability in consumer goods,” said Harsh Saini, Cascale interim CEO. “We’re expanding our capacity to drive climate action and decent work across a broader value chain — from fashion to furnishings and beyond.”

“This milestone marks the beginning of an exciting new chapter for SFC,” said Michela O’Connor Abrams, MOCA+ CEO and SFC Board Chair. “Cascale’s global reach and cross-sector leadership bring new energy to our mission and greater impact for our members, who have long been pioneers in sustainable design and manufacturing.”

Cascale will uphold SFC’s nearly 20-year legacy of education, training, and advocacy. Based in North Carolina, with most members based in North America, SFC leads efforts to promote decarbonization, reduce waste, and minimize the use of toxic chemicals in the home furnishings value chain. SFC’s tools and expertise, including the Eco-Insight Assessment Tool, accredited sustainability course, and support for the Wood Furniture Scorecard program, will continue to be available to SFC members and will eventually become part of Cascale’s global offering, benefiting members worldwide. The move follows the successful acquisition, announced in February 2025, of the Better Buying Institute’s tools.

Editors: For more information, please contact cascaleforster@forster.co.uk or andrew@andrewjosephpr.com. 

ABOUT CASCALE

Cascale is the global alliance empowering collaboration to drive equitable and restorative business practices in the consumer goods industry. Formerly known as the Sustainable Apparel Coalition, Cascale owns and develops the Higg Index, which is exclusively available on Worldly, the most comprehensive sustainability data and insights platform. Cascale unites over 300 retailers, brands, manufacturers, governments, academics, and NGO/nonprofit affiliates around the globe through one singular vision: To catalyze impact at scale and give back more than we take to the planet and its people.

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When disaster strikes, we are ready to help, thanks to our long-standing partnership with Convoy of Hope. Since 2008, we have donated more than $11 million in products to Convoy of Hope, from paper towels and toilet paper for hygiene kits to lumber and building materials to help rebuild homes and businesses. Together with our partners, we restore hope and rebuild lives in times of need.

About Georgia-Pacific 
Based in Atlanta, Georgia-Pacific and its subsidiaries are among the world’s leading manufacturers and marketers of bath tissue, paper towels and napkins, tableware, paper-based packaging, cellulose and building products. Our familiar consumer brands include Angel Soft®, Brawny®, Dixie®, enMotion®, Quilted Northern®, Sparkle® and Vanity Fair®. Georgia-Pacific has long been a leading supplier of building products to lumber and building materials dealers and large do-it-yourself warehouse retailers. Its Georgia-Pacific Recycling subsidiary is among the world’s largest traders of paper, metal and plastics. The company operates more than 150 facilities and employs approximately 30,000 people directly and creates more than 80,000 jobs indirectly. For more information, visit: gp.com/about-us. For news, visit: news.gp.com. Follow Georgia-Pacific on LinkedIn, Meta, Instagram, X and YouTube.

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This story first appeared on Baker Hughes’ Energy Forward Stories.

What do bees and ultrasound equipment have in common? The answer is Michael Geng, beekeeper and engineer at Baker Hughes in Hürth, Germany.

But there is another link: both ultrasound and bees use vibrations to do their important work. The non-destructive ultrasound testing and portable instruments produced by Waygate Technologies, a Baker Hughes business, use high-frequency sound waves to inspect infrastructure, components and materials for internal flaws.

Michael explains, “Our equipment transmits ultrasound at frequencies of a couple of megahertz, and it gets reflected if there’s a flaw in the material.” This is particularly relevant to maintaining pipelines, or EV batteries for example. He explains, “We can inspect connections such as welds, or measure thickness and potential points of weakness or wear in pipes; detect cracks and voids in train tracks or aircraft wings.”

Also applied to assurance testing in automotive, electronics and additive manufacturing industries, portable non-destructive testing (NDT) is invaluable for analyzing the quality and therefore safety of materials, in situ, and without having to break it apart.

Bees, on the other hand, communicate in part via vibroacoustic signals – which can be generated by behaviors such as body or wing movements, or pressing their thoraxes against hive substrates. Science has shown that there is a “strict correlation” between the frequencies of vibroacoustic signals and the amplitudes detected inside the honeybee hives and the imminence of events such as swarming.

Kindergarten — a hive of inspiration

Michael was inspired to keep bees when he met another father at the kindergarten attended by his then toddler daughters, Paula and Lena. “He was a beekeeper, and back in 2017 he directed me to a training course. I thought this could be interesting, so I signed up. Even during training, I became so keen I bought two beehives, and since then my hobby has grown every year,” says Michael. He now keeps hives in his own garden and in the garden of a friend who lives in a nearby street.

Importantly, he is now able to keep his colleagues and local neighborhood supplied with honey. “Once a year, I put on a special honey event in our lab at work, and I invite employees from our facility to try and buy honey if they like it – some kind of ‘Honey Happy Hour’ so-to-speak. During the year I also keep a few jars of honey at my desk, so whenever anybody at work needs to replenish their pantry, they can easily come and get some.”

Honey sales aside, Michael’s main pursuit at the Baker Hughes’ facility in Hürth is developing combined “software, firmware and electronic schematics, or printed circuit boards” to further advance Waygate’s NDT capabilities. The company focuses on the digital transformation of industrial inspection and provides data-driven insights that redefine quality assurance.

“Our intelligent inspection data and cutting-edge digital platforms make the most of our worldwide network to drive smarter industrial decisions and enable targeted predictive maintenance,” he says. “They help to further reduce downtime in industry, improve compliance and traceability and ultimately enhance overall operational efficiency.”

A man for all seasons

In his 24-year career with the company, Michael has led and contributed to the development of numerous products, including the Krautkrämer USM100 portable flaw detector, which has smartphone-like capabilities. Designed to allow operators to perform comprehensive and accurate inspections in the field, it is used in a wide variety of applications including weld and corrosion inspection, inspection of composites such as carbon fiber used in wind turbine blades, and in nuclear plant inspection.

Honey production is somewhat less digitally managed, although Michael does have a website outlining his products and services. He divides his homemade products broadly into spring and summer harvests and their distinctive flavors.

With a rich history, and the remains of a Roman aqueduct passing through it, Hürth is now considered an outer “suburb” of the city of Cologne and has long been known for its support of heavy industries such as mining, energy, manufacturing and machinery production. Baker Hughes itself has more than 125-year history in the area, as the trusted partner of industries that rely on precision, safety and productivity.

Even so, says Michael, the suburban gardens of Hürth are verdant in the warmer months with a wide variety of flowering plants and fruit trees. Although he can not track his bees’ movements, Michael says his spring honey, which he produces in both runny and creamed varieties, owes its caramel-like flavor to cherry and apple blossoms, spring flowers and rapeseed plants.

In summer, as the temperatures in northern Europe ramp up, Michael’s bees seek out the blossoms of surrounding Linden trees, also known as Lime trees (although they have nothing to do with citrus), to produce a fresher, lighter honey.

Paula and Lena, now in their teens, like to help their father with his sweet side hustle, mostly to do jobs such as distributing flyers around the neighborhood, advertising the available sorts of honey. Michael processes and packages the harvest at home, using a centrifuge to separate the solids such as wax from the liquid gold, and further straining the honey into jars. His labels, “Efferener Bienenhonig” refer to Efferen, the district of Hürth that he and his bees call home.

He sells his honey and his latest product, mead, from his doorstep. He also sells bee colonies to other would-be beekeepers and is on call to come and collect unwanted swarms.

Sustainability in all its forms

Michael says his hobby enhances his wellbeing and pleasure in life. “At work, I sit at a desk in front of a computer, using my head. Looking after the bees, I’m in nature, at least in my garden, working with my hands.” He concedes that he would also enjoy spending his spare time programming, “but then I would sit in front of a computer all the time”. Beekeeping and electrical engineering, he says, are perfectly complementary.

A deeper contribution to sustainability is another factor common to non-destructive testing of materials and beekeeping.

Says Michael, “Pipelines transporting oil and gas must be regularly inspected, to prevent leaks that can impact the environment and cause costly losses to producers.” In refineries, testing and maintenance of equipment is critical. “Energy must be produced from hydrocarbons efficiently and avoid waste,” he says. Michael also cites the steel mills which use NDT to ensure the quality of their products from the outset.

Meanwhile, climate change, destruction of habitat and overuse of agricultural pesticides are some of the causes of the decline in global wild bee populations. Germany has recorded some 550 species of bees, and there are almost 2,000 known species in Europe. The European Environment Agency cites “strong evidence of a dramatic loss of wild pollinators, including wild bees, hoverflies, butterflies and moths”. This puts agriculture and food security at risk since around 84% of European crop species depend at least in part on wild pollinators for fertilization, seed production, and quality and yield of crops.

“We have one species of honeybee, and it is not at risk,” says Michael “because honeybees are managed and beekeepers take care of them.” As such honeybees can provide an important contribution to pollination, both in gardens and on a larger, agricultural scale, while governments develop policies that help ensure the continued diversity of bees and other pollinating insect species.

A Sound Future

As industries face increasing pressure to reduce downtime, improve safety, and meet environmental standards, the role of advanced NDT solutions becomes ever more vital. Michael’s work helps ensure that Baker Hughes remains at the forefront of this transformation—delivering intelligent inspection tools that support predictive maintenance and smarter decision-making.

In both his professional and personal life, Michael is driven by care, and a commitment to quality. Whether he is analyzing ultrasonic waveforms or harvesting honey, he is helping build a more resilient and sustainable future—one vibration at a time.