International law firm CMS will soon relocate its Warsaw office to Varso Tower in Warsaw. The new space will undergo certification in the WELL Building Standard system, being the first law firm office in Poland to do so. The process is being supervised by consulting firm, JLL.
CMS’s new premises will be tested to ensure the health and wellbeing of those using them. WELL certification assesses the quality of the working environment of a given office space. It confirms that the conditions in the office are optimal and that employees can feel comfortable in the office due to the friendly and properly designed space. The WELL v2 standard verifies parameters for water quality, acoustics, light and air, as well as measures to support healthy lifestyles.
Employee wellbeing is a top priority for companies around the world. As Aon’s 2021 Global Wellbeing Survey shows, in Poland the most important issues related to wellbeing are work-life balance, mental health and work environment/culture – the latter supported by 45% of respondents.
CMS’s future Warsaw office occupies 7,000 sq. m in the European Union’s tallest office building, Varso Tower, and is arranged over five floors. It is one of the few office spaces in Poland undertaking measures to obtain WELL certification. The Varso Tower building itself, a HB Reavis investment project, will also be assessed under this system.
“We plan to move to Varso Tower at the turn of 2022 and 2023. It is our ambition for the new space to reflect CMS’s organisational culture, to support the development of our team of over 300 people, and to meet our goals related to a sense of belonging and active participation in the life of our law firm. That is why, at the stage of arranging and organising the new space, we are working collaboratively with our employees, taking into account their working style and expectations. CMS is one of the few law firms in the world – and the first in Poland – to apply for WELL certification for its premises. What is more, our new office space will also be assessed under the BREEAM standard, which verifies office space in terms of environmentally friendly solutions,” says Beata Kępowicz, CMS’s Chief Financial and Operations Officer.
For CMS, the decision to apply for the certification is part of the implementation of its “cultureplace” strategy, which is aimed at creating a space that supports the development of relationships within its teams and with clients. Investment in innovation, functionality and space that co-creates the organisation’s culture is an important part of CMS’s identity.
Protecting and promoting the physical, mental and social well-being of employees and stakeholders is also an important ESG factor. WELL Building Standard certification may be the right direction for organisations wishing to operate in accordance with the latest standards in this area.
“Focusing on the health and well-being of people in an organisation is not only part of the ESG strategy being implemented more and more widely by companies. Above all, it is a testament to a company’s high maturity. JLL shares these values with CMS and actively supports their implementation. WELL certification is an excellent measure of meeting the best available standards in this area, and we have a WELL AP (WELL Accredited Professional) in the JLL team. The whole project carried out in cooperation with CMS is an example of a holistic approach to serving our clients and the direction in which JLL wishes to develop its services. JLL advised CMS on premises selection, lease negotiations and is now providing a wide range of services, including Workplace Advisory & Change Management, Project Management and BREEAM certification management,” comments Artur Pakuła, Head of the Project Management and Technical Consultancy Department at JLL. “All this, as well as entrusting JLL with the process management at an early stage translates into exceptionally smooth cooperation and the ability to watch over the implementation of the certification requirements in all activities related to the preparation of the new office from the beginning of the project, and will certainly ensure a high final result of the certification,” adds Artur Pakuła.
