Employees now seek out green office spaces, according to
research by Colliers International. By providing a better
working environment, workers are more likely to be happy in their
work, leading to reduced absenteeism and higher organisational
productivity:

"Green is now the norm - where it used to be a bonus in a
building, it is now expected," said Colliers International's
managing director, Simon Hunt.

By improving your office's access to natural light and creating
better internal air quality, firms can reduce the occurrence of
respiratory diseases and other health problems from anywhere
between 20-50 per cent.

In Australia, environmentally sound buildings are granted a 6-Star
Green Certification, rewarding those which generate
improvements in indoor environment quality; energy, materials and
land use; ecology, innovation and carbon emissions.

Research has shown that these buildings have a positive impact
on organisational performance. The new CH2 building in Melbourne,
for example, has demonstrated productivity improvements of 10.9 per
cent and cost savings of AU$2m post-occupancy.

"The assessment states that staff productivity has improved by
10.9 per cent, and this results in a cost saving of over AU$2m
dollars," said Lord Mayor John So.

"The report shows the cost saving that can be made by 'going
green'; natural light and fresh air makes for healthier employees.
We hope this encourages more building owners and organisations to
aim for six star green buildings," added Cr Fraser Brindley, Chair
of the Environment Committee.

6-Star buildings in Australia have demonstrated up to 66 per
cent less electricity requirements than traditional buildings, with
further 51 per cent lower water requirements; highest reported
productivity improvements were 15 per cent.

The UK's Green Building
Council estimates that the new build industry accounts for
40-50 per cent of global natural resource use, 20 per cent of water
use, 30-40 per cent of energy use and around a third of total CO2
emissions.

The Government currently encourages green buildings through the
recent
Green Deal scheme; this provides a financial mechanism to cover
the upfront costs of energy efficiency improvements in UK offices,
to be paid back through cost savings accumulated in energy
bills.

This runs concurrently with the Carbon
Reduction Commitment Energy Efficiency Scheme, aimed at
generating a standard for energy efficiency across all UK
offices.

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