Keara Fanning‘s passion for the environment has evolved since she started chasing butterflies and dreaming of swimming with beluga whales. JLL’s Midwest Sustainability Practice Lead found her way into the world of wellness in the workplace, where sustainability can go a long way toward boosting employee satisfaction.

“Environmental sustainability and energy efficiency are now the expectation for our clients, with trends moving toward health and well-being,” Keara says. “We’re making sure the spaces we design and occupy not only make healthier and happier employees but also allow them to be more productive.” Enter the Well Building Standard, a type of “nutritional label” for a space that Keara and team are pursuing for a large corporate client. Let’s dive in.

In Hawaii with my fiancé Rick

Typical day: I handle all sustainability projects for the Midwest, including LEED certification, WELL Building Standard, energy retrofits and carbon reporting. We work on both new construction and existing buildings and frequently partner with other JLL business lines from project management to property management to our portfolio energy managers on corporate accounts.

Well, what’s a WELL Building anyways? WELL has overlaps with LEED, including indoor air quality and lighting, but lighting for WELL measures “melanopic lux,” which accounts for different colors in light. For example, if you sit in blue light all day, it throws off your circadian rhythm. WELL also accounts for an office’s fitness opportunities and the nutritional content, particularly sugar, of its available food and drinks (meaning no larger than an 8 oz. Pepsi). WELL sends an assessor once the project is occupied to test light, air and water quality.… Read More