When the Alberta Union of Provincial Employees (AUPE) was in the planning stages of its brand-new headquarters in West Edmonton, no one had ever heard of COVID-19 before. Four years later, with construction of the 120,000 square foot building almost complete, the world is nearing the end of the pandemic with renewed discussion of returning to work.
“As a large advocate for health and safety for our members at their worksites, we want to make sure we are leading the way in our own headquarters."
And thanks to AUPE's pre-pandemic planning, our union family will be returning to a building that's fit for a post-pandemic world.
“As a large advocate for health and safety for our members at their worksites, we want to make sure we are leading the way in our own headquarters,” says Jason Heistad, Executive Secretary-Treasurer for AUPE. “We want to make sure we are leading the way in wellness and in safety for our members and our staff. The intent with the opening of the new building is to make sure we’re energy efficient but as well, have a healthy building to work in and a great gathering place for our membership to hold meetings.”
When COVID-19 hit right in the middle of construction, AUPE needed to adapt the operation and function of the new headquarters to our new needs. There were questions about whether the new building would be safe and healthy once the pandemic ends, and people return from working at home. Fortunately, some of the certifications AUPE had already undertaken prior to COVID had developed new processes and certifications to mitigate these concerns.
"The intent with the opening of the new building is to make sure we’re energy efficient but as well, have a healthy building to work in and a great gathering place for our membership to hold meetings.”
The new AUPE headquarters was to be the first commercial building in the city of Edmonton to have a design and construction that meet the requirements to receive both the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Version 4 certification and the WELL Building Standard from the International Well Building Institute (IBWI).
The LEED certification is the most widely used green-building rating system in the world that prioritizes energy efficiency, water conservation and waste reduction. The WELL standard focuses on building features, designs and organizations policies that support human health and wellness within the building.
In response to the pandemic, both LEED and WELL developed new programs and certifications to address factors that can mitigate the spread of the COVID-19 and other diseases within buildings. LEED now has new pilot credits that focus on social distancing, nontoxic surface cleaning, air quality and infection monitoring.
WELL established a task force of 600 experts in March of 2020 — virologists, architects, public health experts, designers, building scientists, and more — developed the WELL Health Safety Rating Certification (WELL HRSC), a new certification in response to COVID-19 and the potential for other respiratory diseases and pandemics.
"And at the end of the day, the new LEED and WELL certifications, which looks at our mechanical systems, our policies and the building itself, confirms that the new AUPE headquarters will be the healthiest building in Western Canada, not only for our members but also for our staff.”
The WELL HRSC rating is built on five key themes:
- Cleaning and Sanitization Procedures
- Emergency Preparedness Programs
- Health Services Resources
- Air and Quality Management
- Stakeholder Engagement and Communication
Each theme has two to six features for a total of 22 and organizations need to fulfill 15 of the features to receive the WELL HRCS rating. The IBWI gives organizations and facilities a seal that’s placed on the front door of the building for achieving the rating. Each seal has a QR code that allows direct access the specific rating and report on that facility. AUPE’s new HQ along with procedures and policies in place fulfilled 18 of the 22 features.
“We were already pursuing the WELL building standard certification; the pandemic related certification was no additional charge,” says Heistad. “And at the end of the day, the new LEED and WELL certifications, which looks at? our mechanical systems, our policies and the building itself, confirms that that new AUPE headquarters will be the healthiest building in Western Canada, not only for our members but also for our staff.”