Johnson Controls Partners with International WELL Building Institute; Forms Complementary Healthy Buildings Center of Excellence

MILWAUKEE, April 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Johnson Controls (NYSE: JCI), the global leader for smart, healthy and sustainable buildings, today announced a global partnership with the International WELL Building Institute™ (IWBI™), a trailblazer in the people-first approach to buildings and communities, to promote global application of the WELL Building Standard™ (WELL™). Leading the buildings space with more than 135 years of experience, Johnson Controls is ideally positioned with technologies and solutions that accelerate the reinvention of healthy buildings. The two organizations will work together to advance technology development, outcome-based planning and best practices that will improve the health and safety of people in buildings and communities.

Fortifying its commitment to the IWBI partnership, Johnson Controls will form a Healthy Buildings Center of Excellence as part of its global network of OpenBlue Innovation Centers to consolidate the company's comprehensive worldwide efforts to provide support for WELL. Leveraging this Center of Excellence, Johnson Controls is on track to achieve the WELL Health-Safety Rating at headquarter buildings in the United States and China by the third quarter of this fiscal year. In addition, the company will invest in the WELL AP program with a goal of 500 employees achieving the WELL AP credential by the end of the year. As a Keystone member of IWBI, Johnson Controls also will support research and the advancement of healthy buildings.

"At Johnson Controls, we believe at the center of a vision for a healthy world must be healthy buildings. It's natural for us to grow our relationship with IWBI since we both believe that the spaces around us can improve operating efficiency, promote health and well-being as well as boost productivity and enhance sustainability," said Ganesh Ramaswamy, vice president and president, Global Services for Johnson Controls . "With our leadership around OpenBlue Healthy Buildings, Johnson Controls brings to IWBI in-depth understanding of the power of connected technologies. Through our partnership we will help advance the WELL Building Standard and explore areas such as continuous monitoring in support of healthy buildings around the world."

Strategic partners and experts in healthy buildings to customers across the globe, Johnson Controls employees work with customers to identify products and solutions to improve occupant wellness that they can align with WELL criteria. Johnson Controls will cover the cost of the WELL AP exam for qualifying employees and allow them to dedicate working hours to prepare. By supporting this credential, which denotes expertise in the WELL Building Standard and a commitment to advancing human health, experts at Johnson Controls will bring additional value to their trusted advisor relationships with clients.

"This is an important collaboration focused on putting health first to foster innovation, optimize for health and accelerate the opportunity for everyone, everywhere to benefit from WELL," said Rachel Hodgdon, President and CEO of IWBI. "We commend Johnson Controls for its leadership and we look forward to working more closely together to drive our shared goal of true market transformation."

WELL is designed to work harmoniously with global building rating systems such as USGBC's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED), the Living Building Challenge and other leading global green building standards. Johnson Controls ambitious and accelerated sustainability commitments address critical, global environmental needs such as carbon reduction, energy efficiency and water conservation. Partnering with IWBI to advance the WELL Building Standard supports broader action across building construction, facilities management and environmental wellbeing for all. Johnson Controls wide-reaching global presence supports the development of standards that take specific environmental factors into consideration. With nine Innovation Centers around the world, Johnson Controls is well suited to support standards development of healthy buildings needs in various climate types such as humid continental conditions in the Midwest United States, tropical settings in Singapore and other climate types worldwide. These centers are designed to accelerate the reinvention of the building landscape, supporting research and development of dynamic smart facilities that help businesses meet sustainability commitments, while delivering healthy places, enriched experiences and cost savings.

To read more about Johnson Controls commitment and accomplishments around sustainability, please visit: https://www.johnsoncontrols.com/corporate-sustainability/environment

About Johnson Controls:
At Johnson Controls (NYSE:JCI) we transform the environments where people live, work, learn and play. As the global leader in smart, healthy and sustainable buildings, our mission is to reimagine the performance of buildings to serve people, places and the planet. 

With a history of more than 135 years of innovation, Johnson Controls delivers the blueprint of the future for industries such as healthcare, schools, data centers, airports, stadiums, manufacturing and beyond through its comprehensive digital offering OpenBlue. With a global team of 100,000 experts in more than 150 countries, Johnson Controls offers the world`s largest portfolio of building technology, software as well as service solutions with some of the most trusted names in the industry. For more information, visit www.johnsoncontrols.com or follow us @johnsoncontrols on Twitter.

SOURCE Johnson Controls International plc