‘Best in Building Health’ Award
Multinational real estate developer, investor and manager has been recognised by Fitwel for achievements at its Winnersh Triangle business park based in Reading
◆ Winnersh Triangle achieved both the Highest Scoring Project (Built) and Highest Scoring Project: Commercial Industrial Site v2.1 (Built)
UNITED KINGDOM, 21 MARCH 2024
Frasers Property UK has today been recognised as a recipient of Fitwel’s Best in Building Health (BiBH) Awards 2024 for achieving the Highest Scoring Project (Built) and Highest Scoring Project: Commercial Industrial Site v2.1 (Built), for its Winnersh Triangle business park based in Reading. Through a rigorous third-party healthy building certification system, Fitwel sets the industry standard for evidence-based strategies that promote health and wellbeing through the built environment.
Fitwel is the world’s leading people-centric, global real estate certification platform, which recognises organisations that are building healthier developments and communities. The Best in Building Health Award is an annual accreditation, honouring the top global real estate companies and industry leaders that are driving the healthy building movement by example, showing clear commitment to using health-promoting design and operational strategies in their buildings through the Fitwel Standard.
Jeremy Parsons, Sustainability Director at Frasers Property UK commented: “Achieving this award and recognition from Fitwel hasn’t been by chance. It highlights the long-term planning, preparation and collaborative effort that we have made as a business over the years; whether this be policy planning, introducing enhancements across the site or conducting occupier surveys to encourage engagement from our community. The success and numerous recognitions we have achieved really shines a light on the tireless efforts of our team and Frasers Property as a business, in embedding our social sustainability strategy across the places we create.”
Owned and managed by Frasers Property UK, Winnersh Triangle business park is a 1.5 million sq ft mixed-use business park with a wide variety of workspaces that caters to different organisational needs, including Grade A offices for major HQ’s, to start-up office suites. The business park is home to a diverse portfolio of companies from the creative, technology and knowledge sectors.
Winnersh Triangle has consistently been recognised and awarded for its commitment to enhancing the well-being of occupiers across the park; with its 90 acres of green open spaces and healthy events programmes including bootcamps, yoga, meditation and chair massage making it an attractive space for occupiers looking to improve the health and well-being of its people.
Winnersh Triangle has also continued to invest in accessibility across the site, with all amenities, green space and services being easily accessible, including the introduction of safe pedestrian crossings and walking routes and improved signage across the site. Adjacent to the business park is Winnersh Triangle train station, making sustainable travel to and from the park convenient. The site also offers free-to-use Ryde bikes for occupiers and its five on-site cafés offer and promote healthy food and refreshments.
Frasers Property UK is committed to advancing all pillars of environment, social and governance (ESG) and the Fitwel standard is integral in guiding how the business reviews, measures and progresses its park-based targets; ultimately helping to assess the ongoing enhancements it makes to its business park portfolio, which promote health and well-being through the built environment.
Joanna Frank, President and CEO of the Center for Active Design, accreditor for the Fitwel Certification System, said: “This year’s winners are true champions exemplifying Fitwel’s global reach, bringing building health to all. Fitwel is empowering industry leaders to implement a framework that prioritises stakeholder health and wellbeing, improves ESG performance, and future-proofs asset value. Frasers Property’s achievements demonstrate that this year will be a game changer for the real estate industry, as organisations commit to healthy building strategies at-scale, driving value, and prioritising health.”
Year on year, Frasers Property UK has been the top of its peer group in the Global Real Estate Sustainability Benchmark (GRESB), achieving a 4-star rating with an overall score of 82, well above the GRESB average score of 75 and FPUK’s peer group average of 59.
Frasers Property has also previously been awarded a Fitwel 3-star rating at Farnborough Business Park, which was the first business park in the UK to achieve a Fitwel 3-star, the maximum rating, and Fitwel 2-star ratings at Blythe Valley Park, Solihull and Chineham Park in Basingstoke.
