LEED and WELL: the sustainability we need to start demanding

-What LEED and WELL certifications are (and why we are talking about them)

What if, instead of asking how “green” a building is, we started asking how healthy the space we live in every day actually is?

For us at Nazena, this is becoming a fundamental principle: sustainability is not a level to be achieved afterward, but a responsibility that must be embedded in the project, rooted at the very foundation of building.
That is why today we have chosen to bring clarity and talk about two international certifications that are redefining the way spaces are designed: LEED, which evaluates the environmental impact of buildings, and WELL, which measures the well-being of the people who inhabit them.

These are voluntary tools, yet increasingly central, because they connect what is often treated separately: respect for the planet and the quality of our everyday lives.
For us, talking about them means once again shifting sustainability from a theoretical concept to something tangible, bringing it back exactly where it manifests every day — in the spaces we inhabit.

-What LEED certification for sustainable buildings is

LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) is the most widely used certification system for sustainable building worldwide.
It was created to objectively assess the environmental impact of a building, considering its entire lifecycle and the design choices that define it.

Its approach is based on a scoring system: every decision that reduces consumption, waste, and environmental impact contributes to the final result.

Among the main aspects LEED evaluates are:

• energy efficiency
• water management
• materials and resources
• indoor air quality
• relationship with the surrounding context and mobility

Based on the score achieved, the building reaches different certification levels: Certified, Silver, Gold, Platinum.

LEED does not certify individual elements or materials, but the building as a whole.
For this reason, every design choice becomes part of a broader vision and set of goals.

-What WELL certification is and how it improves well-being in buildings

While LEED looks at the building and its impact on the environment, WELL shifts the focus to the people who experience that space.

The WELL certification was created with a specific goal: to improve people’s health and well-being through the built environment.

To do this, it analyzes a series of factors that directly affect our daily lives, including:

• air and water quality
• light
• thermal and acoustic comfort
• materials
• mental and social well-being

It is not only about design, but also about how a space is managed: a WELL building is designed to actively support those who inhabit it over time, ensuring that air, light, comfort, and environmental quality remain consistent and aligned with people’s well-being, every day.

In this case as well, there are certification levels — Silver, Gold, Platinum — reflecting the degree of attention to well-being.

-LEED and WELL: the new direction of sustainable design

If LEED and WELL help define what it truly means to design sustainably, their real strength lies in the direction they set: transforming sustainability from a declared value into measurable performance.

No longer choices guided solely by sensitivity or aesthetics, but by objective criteria that allow every aspect of a space to be evaluated — and improved.

With LEED and WELL, designing means taking on a concrete responsibility toward the environment and toward people.
Because every decision — from light to materials, from air to systems — has a real and measurable impact.
And it is precisely this awareness that is redefining the way we build.

-Where LEED and WELL apply (and why they concern all of us)

This vision does not only apply to large projects or iconic architecture.
On the contrary, it enters the most ordinary spaces — the ones we experience every day.

LEED and WELL apply to: schools, offices, homes, hospitals, and commercial spaces.
And this is where their impact becomes evident.

A school designed according to these criteria improves concentration and learning.
An office reduces stress and fatigue.
A home becomes a more balanced, healthier, and more livable environment.

This is not just about “building better,” but about building in order to live better.

-Differences between LEED and WELL and why they are complementary

LEED and WELL are not two alternatives to choose from, but two perspectives that complement each other.
On one side, LEED analyzes the building in relation to the environment: consumption, resources, impact.
On the other, WELL focuses on the lived experience, looking at what happens to people in terms of well-being, comfort, and quality of life.

Two different perspectives, yet deeply connected. Because a building can be efficient, but not necessarily healthy. And at the same time, it can be comfortable, but not sustainable in the long term.

It is only when these two dimensions meet that a true balance emerges:
spaces that respect the planet while improving the lives of those who inhabit them.

-How to obtain LEED and WELL certifications

But how do we get there?
LEED and WELL are not labels or self-declarations.
They are the result of a precise process, made up of design choices validated through verification and measurement.

In the case of new constructions or renovations, the process begins from the earliest design stages, where every decision is guided by specific criteria.
It continues with the collection of data and technical documentation, necessary to demonstrate the building’s performance.

But this process does not only apply to new buildings.
Existing buildings can also be certified, through improvement interventions and a more conscious management of spaces.
In these cases, work is done on what already exists: energy optimization, air quality, lighting, materials, and comfort.
And above all, on how the space is managed every day, because daily use directly affects performance (from air quality managed through ventilation and cleaning, to the regulation of light and temperature, to the way spaces are used).

At this stage, independent bodies step in to analyze and validate every aspect before assigning the certification level.
This is what truly makes the difference:
it is not about intentions, but about concrete results.
Because sustainability, when it is real, can be measured, verified, and must be recognized.

-Why LEED and WELL are increasingly important (even if not mandatory)

Today, LEED and WELL are not mandatory by law, but they are becoming increasingly central in the decisions that shape how we build and live.
They are found in public tenders, corporate ESG strategies, and real estate investment decisions.
But their deepest impact is reflected in people’s everyday lives.

It means studying in healthier environments, working in spaces that reduce stress, living in more balanced homes.
In very concrete terms, it means living better.

Sustainability, in this sense, changes form: it is no longer only environmental, but becomes physical, mental, and everyday.

-LEED and WELL and a new culture of sustainable living

Spreading knowledge about LEED and WELL means making this awareness accessible.
It means understanding that there are objective criteria to determine whether a space is truly sustainable — and beginning to demand them.
As this awareness grows, the way we design, build, and invest begins to change.

Sustainability stops being an option and becomes a shared responsibility.
And this is exactly where we position ourselves as Nazena.

We believe that material is not just a technical choice, but a cultural act, rooted in a specific way of seeing and inhabiting the world.
That is why we work every day to transform sustainability into something that can be seen, touched, and experienced.

In this process, materials themselves become active agents: not simply design elements, but tools capable of concretely contributing to broader goals — the same goals that certifications like LEED and WELL make measurable.

Because the spaces we design, and the materials that compose them, have the power to influence the way we live.
And for us, today, this is no longer a detail.

It is the point of (re)starting.