Green office buildings increase employee productivity

Attention employers, commercial real estate industry affiliates, and building owners: a study by the University of San Diego and CB Richard Ellis Group (CBRE), a leading global real estate company with offices worldwide, indicates clear financial benefits of sustainable buildings.

While deliberation, concerns about climate change and the protection of natural resources are important components in becoming environmentally responsible, financial factors, for the most part, drive the green economy.

The research, Do Green Buildings Make Dollars and Sense?, was overseen by Dr. Norm Miller, academic director and professor at the University of San Diego's Burnham-Moores Center for Real Estate in collaboration with CBRE's sustainability management.

The report's preliminary findings demonstrate the actual and favorable economic impact of sustainable construction practices for both property owners and occupants.

The yearlong research showed financial advantages to sustainable buildings, which have lower vacancy rates and higher rental rates: 3.5% lower vacancy rates and 13% higher rent than the market rates.

The study also measured productivity and found that Green building occupants are sick less often and have higher levels of productivity. Productivity calculations were based on two factors: self-reporting and the average number of sick days of workers and tenants in 154 buildings under CBRE across the U.S. About 3,000 tenants in 10 markets were surveyed and reported an average of 2.9 fewer sick days a year in their current ‘green’ workplace than in their previous work environments. About 55 percent of participants reported that employees’ productivity had improved.

In the research, a green building was defined as either with a LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification at various levels (Certified, Silver, Gold, Platinum) or with the EPA ENERGY STAR® marker. In addition, most of the buildings examined in the study had adopted various sustainable practices, such as waste management/recycling, green housekeeping, water conservation, filtering/ventilation, tenant comfort measures, etc.

Constructing new green buildings or retrofitting existing structures will support 7.9 million U.S. jobs and pump $554 billion into the American economy over the next four years (per the U.S. Green Building Council – USGBC).

Currently, the green construction industry supports more than 2 million jobs in the U.S. and generates more than $100 billion in gross domestic product and wages.
 These findings are overall consistent with other green building studies pointing to a better performance of ENERGY STAR® and LEED buildings, which encourage and accelerate adoption of sustainable green building and development practices.

Resources:
1. CB Richard Ellis Group (CBRE) - Website: www.cbre.com

Awards and ranks:

• Top 50 greenest large companies in America (Newsweek, 2009)
• ENERGY STAR® Partner of the Year for the past two years (The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency - EPA)
• Leadership Award for Organizational Excellence (The U.S. Green Building Council - USGBC)
• Sustainable Leadership and Design – Development (CoreNet)
• For more information check CBRE Awards and Honors.

2. Burnham-Moores Center for Real Estate, School of Business Administration,University of San Diego. Website: www.usdrealestate.com.

Crossroad image from green.sympatico.msn.ca    

 JOB LEADS and TRAINING opportunities

1. Green Career Center (GCC) - Formerly known as the Environmental Career Center (ECC) and has changed name to the Green Careers Center . GCC assists individuals and employers alike, in matching candidates with green jobs.

Search on ‘green building’, ‘sustainable building’, construction. Also on any specialty construction sector, such as painters, architects, green HVAC (heating/cooling/ventilation), more.

2. Careers at CB Richard Ellis.

The site has several tabs: Job Search (you need to register first), Career Path, Career Resources.

3. Internship opportunity for LEED AP in San Francisco.

Send me feedback, Green career tips, training suggestions or job openings and I will share them.

Tags: Environment, Employee Productivity, Rental, Construction and Property, Commercial Building, Commercial Real Estate, Global Warming, Climate Change, Conservation, Ecology, Energy, Carbon Emissions, greenhouse gas, CO2, Energy Saving, Water Conservation, HVAC, Environmental Protection, Finance, Investing, Investment, Real Estate Management,Realtor, Real Estate,