Why work in a green building?

The benefits of green work places

The benefits of green building continue to stack up. There are a wide range of benefits for people working in green buildings including:

Healthier places to work

Green building design emphasises natural light and fresh air, and reduces exposure to harmful chemicals and toxins. As a result, green buildings are healthy places to work.

Sustainability Victoria’s (2006) pre- and post-occupancy study of staff in 500 Collins Street found the following health benefits: 

A study by the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (2011) in the US found that practical IEQ interventions in offices could prevent sick building syndrome symptoms, as well as absence in millions of office workers, while also improving work performance by an economically significant amount. The attainable combined projected annual economic benefits could be as much as US$26 billion a year. CBRE’s Do Green Buildings Make Dollars and Sense? (2009) found that tenants in green buildings report an average of 2.88 fewer sick days in their current green office versus their previous non-green office.
The University of San Diego's Burnham-Moores Center for Real Estate (2009) has found that green buildings reduce sick leave by 45%, and absenteeism dropping by almost three days per worker per year. Modelling from CitySwitch has found that a typical financial or professional services firm operating from a 5 Star Green Star-rated office of 5,000 square metres would save $262,014a year simply through reduced absenteeism.

Lend Lease’s The Gauge, designed with people in mind, attracted key tenant Fujitsu Australia. “We want people to enjoy working at Fujitsu and we’re creating a culture which attracts and retains staff,” says Chief Executive Officer, Mike Foster. “Our Green Star office is good for our employees and good for our business, even helping to reduce absenteeism by 42%”   Read more in a case study about The Gauge.

Boost your productivity

Green building design is focused on creating a comfortable indoor environment. When we are comfortable we work better.

• Green Star buildings consistently outperform non-green buildings in terms of comfort and productivity. Natural light, fresh air and access to views of the outdoors, as well as control over individual workspace temperature and lighting, can affect productivity directly.
• The World Green Building Council’s Business Case for Green Building (2013) analysis of existing research on building design attributes and workplace productivity found:
  • Up to 3% increase in productivity when people had individual temperature control of their workspace
  • Up to11% productivity gains from improved ventilation
  • Up to 18% increase in productivity from access to daylight and operable windows
  • Up to 23% improved productivity from well-designed lighting.
• Modelling from CitySwitch has found that the productivity savings gained from a typical financial or professional services firm operating from a 5 Star Green Star-rated office of 5,000 square metres would be $3,654,744 a year.

Research by the University of Technology Sydney demonstrated a direct link between sustainable building design and employees’ assessment of their ability to work. The research tracked more than 2,500 Macquarie Bank employees over 15 months as they moved into their new high-performance office. Read a summary of the UTS research.

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