Last December, our historical offices on Via Carducci in Milan achieved the WELL Building Standard® certification, Platinum level: the first certified building in Italy and one of the highest ranking in the world, with a score of 91/100. On the morning of May 9, we held an official celebration with Rick Fedrizzi, Chairman and CEO of the International WELL Building Institute (IWBI). This certification recognizes our commitment to putting people at the center of everything we do: an approach that translates into tangible initiatives such as the creation of a welcoming work environment, thanks to high-tech solutions that ensure high quality standards in terms of natural and artificial lighting, acoustics, clean air, ergonomics of spaces and workstations, integration of greenery, and cultural and artistic enhancement of the site.
Care for people and the environment
The same commitment to sustainability that we guarantee our customers is now also passed on to the people who work with us, as this certification shows. “Our offices on Via Carducci are efficient, environmentally friendly and were designed for the health and wellbeing of those who experience them every day,” said Chairman Michele Crisostomo, “and everything was done with aesthetics and the beauty of the city in mind. Coming in the year we’re celebrating our 60th anniversary, this recognition shows that our Group not only has a great history to be proud of, but has also always looked to the future, with a focus on innovation and sustainability.”
Looking to the future also means being open to change and reconsidering the paradigms that had been taken for granted. “The pandemic changed the way we work,” recalled Francesca Valente, Head of People & Organization Italy, “and now we need to redefine spaces for this new way of working. Our experience is changing because the workplace is turning more and more into a hub for relationships, a social aggregator. To fully reclaim the pleasure of working in a team, the space that hosts us must not only be beautiful and comfortable, but also sustainable, flexible and creative.”
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The parameters taken into consideration
In 2015, the International WELL Building Institute introduced a system to assess the level of health and wellbeing experienced by people inside buildings. The WELL Building Standard® is based on 10 key concepts, in line with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): the quality of the air people breathe and the water they consume; the level of thermal, brightness and acoustic comfort; healthiness of the building materials used; motivation to eat well and get some physical exercise; care for mental health; and sense of community. In this context, WELL provides metrics and reference standards to objectively measure these various aspects, in order to obtain a certification that is internationally recognized.
“This day marks both the end and the beginning of a cycle,” commented Angelo Gava, Head of Services Italy. “It’s an end because we celebrate having received the WELL Platinum certification for the offices on Via Carducci. And it is also a beginning because, after this sign of recognition, Enel is pursuing the same path not only in other offices in Italy, but also in some in Latin America.”