Workman Retail is taking part in the UK Green Building Council’s ‘Wellbeing Lab’ programme. In its second year, the Lab focuses on retail property and provides seven months’ of knowledge exchange and hands-on collaborative learning to help understand the business case for retail spaces that support the health and wellbeing of shoppers and retail workers.

The Wellbeing Lab for Retail, which is sponsored by Forbo Flooring UK and Hoare Lea, follows the successful completion of UK-GBC’s first ever Wellbeing Lab, which focused on offices.

The Lab process involves a range of teams from across disciplines working together to address wellbeing challenges in a specific sector.

Workman Retail and 16 other supporting organisations will bring a ‘live’ project to the lab, in the form of retail property managed by Workman Retail. UK-GBC will support each organisation as they measure and monitor key indicators for the property – including indoor environmental data; the experience of shoppers and store staff and the economic impact on employers.

Lab participants will receive expert guidance on the data gathering and interrogation process to identify areas for improvement. The group will meet regularly for the duration of the programme to discuss their findings, progress and pitfalls in implementing key health and wellbeing interventions in their buildings.

The Lab will culminate with a showcase event, to provide the group with the opportunity to share their experiences, which will then be made available for the wider industry to learn from. This will help address one of the most common demands from the industry for more "real life" evidence on the link between building design and commercial benefits.

Vicky Cotton, Environmental Director at Workman commented “As specialists in property management and building consultancy it’s really important that we fully understand what creates and sustains healthy shopping environments for everyone who uses them – workers and shoppers alike. We are looking forward to learning from the Lab and to using that knowledge to the benefit of all of our managed properties”.

John Alker, Campaign and Policy Director at UK-GBC, said:

“I am very pleased that we have been able to bring together such a diverse range of participants from across the retail property sector to take part in this exciting project. It demonstrates the growing interest in wellbeing-centred design and the benefits it can bring.  "However, it’s vital that we turn interest into decisive action. The Lab will help companies quantify the benefits of healthy shopping and working environments, which can support the business case for developing and occupying more sustainable, healthy retail spaces. It will also provide useful and applicable knowledge for us to share with others”.

Mark Bauer, Environment Specialist at Forbo Flooring UK, said:
“We are delighted to have been invited to sponsor the Wellbeing Lab for retail which builds on our participation in the inaugural Wellbeing Lab for offices. We recognise the excellent learning opportunity these Labs present to both participants and other interested parties who can assimilate the learnings and experiences and then apply them to their own spaces in order to create a healthier environment”.

James Ford, Partner at Hoare Lea, said:
“We are delighted that the Wellbeing Lab programme has chosen retail spaces as its focus this year.  Hoare Lea is proud to have contributed to pioneering advancements in sustainable retail development.  We are pleased to support this collaboration to further enhance the value of retail spaces and celebrate people-centred design”.

Find more information on the UK GBC and the retail lab here >>

This press release was originally published on the Workman website here.