As reported in Canaccord Adams Green Building Semimonthly:
“University of San Diego’s Burnham-Moores Center for Real Estate and CB Richard Ellis (CBRE)…researchers surveyed more than 2,000 tenants in 154 green buildings managed by CBRE nationwide. To gauge office worker productivity, they relied on two primary measurements: “sick days and the self-reported productivity percentage change after moving into a new [Energy Star or LEED-certified] building.” According to their results, 45% of surveyed workers are taking fewer sick days since moving, 45% are taking the same number of sick days, and 10% are actually taking more sick days. Meanwhile, 55% think they are more , 43% think they have the same productivity, and 2% think they are less productive.”
This research supports consideration of a broader financial payback analysis than typically used by CFOs in evaluating green construction. The traditional approach is to divide energy cost reductions by the green investment to produce the time period of financial payback. This research suggests there is a “bigger” cost savings picture for CFOs to consider in their analysis of green building investments at this time where medical costs are soaring. Should green building investments be considered as a medical insurance cost reduction tool?
