How Health, Sustainability, and Finance Converge to Shape the Next Era of the Built Environment
Minjia Yang, Vice President and Head of Sustainable Finance at the International WELL Building Institute (IWBI), shares a transformative vision at 1EnergyWorld—a vision that redefines real estate as more than just bricks and infrastructure. Her message is direct: real estate must prioritize people. Health, sustainability, and financial value are not separate goals—they’re deeply connected. In her talk, “Rethinking Real Estate for a Healthier Future: Integrating Health, Sustainability, and Finance,” Yang makes a powerful case for building environments that serve both human well-being and long-term business success.
At IWBI, Yang leads efforts to connect the worlds of finance, regulation, and sustainability with practical, people-centered outcomes. She brings experience across law, economics, and global finance, and uses that lens to help investors and companies see health not as a cost, but as a core strategy.
Putting People at the Center
Yang begins by challenging how we define health. Rather than seeing it purely in medical terms, she emphasizes a broader understanding—one that includes physical, mental, and social well-being. IWBI embraces the World Health Organization’s definition of health and builds its approach around it. The fact that people spend 90% of their time indoors makes buildings one of the biggest influences on how we feel, think, and connect.
That’s where the WELL Building Standard comes in. It’s a framework developed by IWBI that looks at how buildings affect health, with ten key focus areas: air, water, nourishment, light, movement, thermal comfort, sound, materials, mind, and community. These are not abstract ideas—they’re real, measurable ways to improve how people experience their surroundings.
From Sick Buildings to Better Buildings
Yang reminds us that the conversation around healthy buildings has deep roots. In the 1980s, the term “sick building syndrome” emerged to describe how poorly designed and ventilated spaces were making people feel unwell. That moment helped kick off the green building movement, with standards like LEED and BREEAM focusing on environmental impacts.
But over time, the people part of the equation was left behind. Energy efficiency and environmental impact remained the focus, while health, comfort, and equity were often overlooked. IWBI stepped in to change that. After nearly a decade of global collaboration and research, it launched the WELL Building Standard in 2014—designed specifically to put human well-being at the heart of building design and operation.
The WELL framework is designed to work alongside existing standards. IWBI has developed direct integrations with LEED, BREEAM, Singapore’s Green Mark, and GRESB to help companies align their sustainability goals with human outcomes.
A Universal Right to Healthy Spaces
Yang points to a pivotal development in 2022, when the United Nations General Assembly officially recognized access to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment as a basic human right. For IWBI, this isn’t just a moral argument—it validates the mission to make healthier buildings a standard, not a luxury.
Through WELL, organizations are equipped with clear, practical strategies to improve mental health, foster inclusion, support movement, and create environments that are not only more efficient—but more human. Whether it’s incorporating daylight and greenery, or designing policies that give people more control over their work environments, these efforts are backed by research and built into IWBI’s standards.
Why Health is a Financial Strategy
Yang makes it clear: investing in health pays off. Studies from institutions like MIT show that WELL-certified buildings command higher rents—between 4.4% and 7.7% more per square foot—compared to similar buildings without certification. They also attract tenants more easily, see higher occupancy, and experience stronger tenant satisfaction. These are real, bottom-line impacts.
But she takes the financial conversation even further. Around the world, more than 60 different financial instruments—from green bonds to sustainability-linked loans—now include WELL as part of their criteria. In many of these cases, companies that commit to WELL certification qualify for better lending terms. This is already happening across industries and continents.
One standout example comes from CapitaLand Development, which recently secured two sustainability-linked loans that tie interest rates to progress on both WELL certification and Singapore’s Green Mark system. This kind of dual-commitment approach reflects how companies are starting to treat social and environmental goals as equally important in their financial planning.
A Global Footprint with Local Impact
Today, IWBI’s reach is global—spanning more than 130 countries and over 5.8 billion square feet of space. Thirty-five percent of Fortune 500 companies participate in WELL programs, and a growing number of cities and universities are adopting these standards too.
Yang highlights real-world examples across sectors. The Empire State Building and Yankee Stadium are WELL rated. San Francisco’s Harvey Milk Terminal One is certified under both WELL and LEED. In Singapore, the National University of Singapore uses WELL not just in its facilities but also in its curriculum, preparing the next generation to lead with a health-first mindset.
In China, the West Bund Financial Hub in Shanghai stands out as a WELL-certified community—a development that not only supports business but also encourages movement, connection, and civic pride. A shopping center in the same city becomes the world’s first WELL Platinum certified mall, complete with a rooftop running track for community use.
Yang also notes that cities like Miami and Jersey City are rolling out WELL across their municipal buildings, showing that health-focused design can be implemented at scale in the public sector.
Navigating a Changing Regulatory Landscape
Yang and her team study global regulatory trends to ensure that IWBI’s work is aligned with the direction of ESG policies worldwide. From Europe’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive to India’s BRSR framework, a clear theme is emerging: companies are being asked to show how they support diversity, equity, and employee well-being—not just environmental targets.
To help organizations meet these expectations, IWBI created the WELL ESRS Alignment Tool, which shows how WELL strategies can support up to half of the European ESG reporting requirements—especially in the “social” category. WELL also aligns with 16 of the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, particularly those focused on health, gender equality, and sustainable cities.
Building the Future We Want to Live In
Yang closes her talk with a quote from author Alice Walker: “Look closely at the present you are constructing. It should look like the future you’re dreaming.” That message captures the heart of her vision. Real estate isn’t just about structures—it’s about the lives shaped within them.
At 1EnergyWorld, where leaders are focused on building a smarter and more resilient energy future, this presentation serves as a timely reminder that energy, health, and finance are all part of the same equation. Buildings must do more than save power—they must support people.
As markets shift, regulations tighten, and employees demand more from their workplaces, health-focused real estate is emerging as not just smart policy—but smart business. Through frameworks like WELL, the next generation of real estate is being built not just for performance—but for people.
>> WATCH THE VIDEO OF THE PRESENTATION SESSION HERE
