COMMENTARY

Design Valuing Human Capital

Because Green and healthy buildings can work and do good for people, profit and planet.

WHY BOTHER?
Design valuing human capital is taking centre stage in sustainable buildings as it has a strong value proposition that goes far beyond corporate sustainability responsibility.

Staff are the most valuable resource in most organisations, typically accounting for 90 per cent of business operating costs. Evidence shows that sustainable buildings valuing innovations, health and well-being of occupants are associated with productivity boost and reduced absenteeism, which in turn impact the bottom line and competitiveness of a business.

In 2014, the World Green Building Council (WorldGBC) published a report on ‘Health, Wellbeing and Productivity in Offices: The Next Chapter for Green Building’. The report set out initial research, evidence and case studies for sustainable design of workplaces.

The updated report ‘Building the Business Case: Health, Wellbeing and Productivity in Green Offices’ in 2016 further demonstrated, by best practice examples, that offices having low concentrations of carbon dioxide, volatile organic compounds and other pollutants, coupled with high ventilation rates, double cognitive scores for workers.

Generous access to daylight and self-controlled electrical lighting for workers near windows contribute to better sleep. A wide variety of plant species inside and outside improves employees’ processing time by 7 to 12 per cent. There is an increasing body of evidence that shows that Green and healthy buildings can work and do good for people, profit and planet. 

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