New report makes business case for building green with health and wellbeing features

Celebrating Earth Day with the World Green Building Council. They created an event for a report. They called the event: Doing Right by Planet and People: The Business Case for Health and Wellbeing in Green Buildings. This Report urges companies to make green improvements

LONDON, UK – 24 April 2018 – Today, the World Green Building Council launched a new report. It is highlighting tangible economic benefits of green building and showcasing improved occupant satisfaction. This is when companies carry out new health, wellbeing and productivity features in existing green structures.

Doing Right by Planet and People: The Business Case for Health and Wellbeing in Green Building examines case studies of 11 facilities around the globe. These locations have one or more green certifications including LEED, Green Star and BREEAM. The report evaluates health and wellbeing features that integrated into the facilities. For example and or such as: enhanced fresh air ventilation, acoustic privacy, increase of daylight penetration and use of biophilic design elements such as green walls and extensive indoor plants.

Furthermore, after adding health and wellbeing features into green-certified buildings, companies found out things.

They found out that:

• employee absenteeism reduced

• operating costs were minimised

• employees felt more productive and healthier.

Terri Wills, CEO of the World Green Building Council, said: “This report should send a clear signal to companies with employees as well as building owners and managers to make green building investments a priority. It’s obvious that making energy efficiency improvements will cut operating costs, but arguably an even greater impact of green improvements are those felt by the people who spend their working lives in these spaces. Greener workspaces are healthier, more enjoyable places to work, and this has a tangible impact on productivity, employee health and the business bottom-line.”

This report from the World Green Building Council should send a clear signal to companies with employees. In addition and / or as well as building owners and managers providing spaces for these companies.

Firstly, Key case study results include:

• The Akron Children’s Hospital project by HKS in Ohio. It achieved over US$900,000 in annual energy savings, and family satisfaction with the space increased by 67%.

• Cundall’s UK office’s absenteeism dropped by more than four days per person per year. That’s a 58% reduction and Staff turnover reduced by 27%. Taken together, these two outcomes provided a £200,000 saving per year.

• Sherwin-William’s Centro-America headquarters in El Salvador. It saw a 68% reduction in reported respiratory problems and a 64% reduction in reported allergy problems. Additionally and most noteworthy, since moving to the new building, absenteeism reduced by 44%. Sherwin-Williams has calculated a total annual saving of US$85,000 per year.

• Plantronics’ office in The Netherlands saved the developer €624,000 in financing costs. This is when the client elected to buy the building. Increased employee productivity to Plantronics has also been estimated at €2.1 million per year.

•Also, the American Society of Interior Designers’ new HQ in Washington D.C.. It saw an increase in employee productivity and reduction of absenteeism. This expects to pay for its investment within the first five years.

• Henderson Land Development in Hong Kong. They created a highly desirable mixed-use community. More importantly it is realising 40% higher property values. That’s compared to nearby equivalent properties.

The report by the World Green Building Council sponsored by the global filtration specialists, Mann+Hummel. In addition, design and manufacturing group. Also, Saint-Gobain, real estate investment trust company, Landsec, and real estate developers, Delta Development Group.

“Sustainable office buildings deliver along the triple bottom line: they are not only better for the natural environment, they also improve employees’ wellbeing and bring economic benefits. The world-class projects explored in this impressive report help to further build the business case. We are delighted to be supporting this project and look forward to working on more green building initiatives,” said Pascal Eveillard, Deputy VP, Sustainable Development, Saint-Gobain.

The report found that employees prefer and work best in spaces with good air quality, ample natural light, and access to greenery and amenities.

“Here at Delta we have first-hand experience of reaping the benefits of making green buildings. By integrating health, wellbeing and smarter working we noticed a shift in the productivity and performance of our employees while simultaneously delivering a good return on investment. Building green simply makes business sense – socially, economically and environmentally,” said Coert Zachariasse, CEO, Delta Development Group.

In conclusion, Doing Right by Planet and People: The Business Case for Health and Wellbeing in Green Building Report is available here.

Finally, Doing Right by Planet and People: The Business Case for Health and Wellbeing in Green Building Report is part of the Better Places for People campaign and is sponsored by Mann+Hummel, Saint-Gobain, Landsec and Delta Development Group.

For further information on Better Places for People, visit the website.

Source: The World Green Building Council www.worldgbc.org