{"id":32333,"date":"2021-06-24T02:53:21","date_gmt":"2021-06-24T06:53:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/test.greenmoney.com\/2025\/?p=32333"},"modified":"2021-07-31T00:58:29","modified_gmt":"2021-07-31T04:58:29","slug":"the-second-wave-of-sustainability-is-health-and-wellbeing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/test.greenmoney.com\/2025\/the-second-wave-of-sustainability-is-health-and-wellbeing\/","title":{"rendered":"The Second Wave of Sustainability is Health and Wellbeing"},"content":{"rendered":"
>> Back to July 2021 Issue<\/a><\/div>\n
Kilroy Realty’s Columbia Square Residence Tower: First apartment rental project to achieve WELL Multifamily Residential Certification<\/h5>\n

For health and wellbeing in buildings, a wellness certification for a building was a luxury a year ago. Now some consider it a must have, and a way to encourage workers back to the office.<\/h3>\n

\"SamWe humans typically spend 90 percent of our time indoors. Perhaps that\u2019s why many us are somewhat complacent about buildings. We generally assume they are safe places to be. The pandemic changed all that. Suddenly, our attention is on whether our immediate environs can make us sick. We are asking questions about air quality, surface cleanliness, and even elevator capacity.<\/p>\n

We have known buildings can make people sick for quite some time. The World Health Organization (WHO) coined the term Sick Building Syndrome or SBS in 1986. SBS occurs when occupants experience headaches, allergy-like symptoms, or feel dizzy after spending time indoors. Poorly maintained office buildings are estimated to impact 20 percent of workers. Improvements to air quality, reductions in air pollutants, and better ventilation can reduce symptoms by 70 percent.<\/p>\n

SBS is not just a ventilation issue. A building’s stored supply of fresh water can reach unsafe levels of bacteria if the water system is not well maintained, leading to illness and even Legionnaire\u2019s disease.1<\/sup> Professor Joe Allen\u2019s book, Healthy Buildings<\/em>, identifies the nine foundations of a healthy building \u2014 ventilation, air quality, health, moisture, dust and pests, safety and security, water quality, noise, lighting and views. They are derived from 40 years of scientific evidence on the factors that drive better health and performance for a buildings’ occupants.<\/p>\n

\"9<\/p>\n

People, Planet, or Profit?<\/h2>\n

Buildings consume 40 percent of global energy and create 30 percent of global energy-related greenhouse gas emissions.2<\/sup>\u00a0Being the energy hogs that they are, it was perhaps logical for the early focus of ESG investors to be on energy use reduction. It was also an easy return on investment. Reduce the energy use, reduce the utility bill. That\u2019s good for the planet, and good for profit too. But what about the people?<\/p>\n

A healthy workforce is a more profitable one. Healthier workplaces see less employee absenteeism, less sick days, and less employee turnover. Improving workspaces so people are more productive isn\u2019t as easy as changing an incandescent light bulb to LED. But it\u2019s not as hard as we might imagine.<\/p>\n

The 3-30-300 rule<\/h2>\n

This rule of thumb describes a company\u2019s costs for utilities, rent and payroll \u2014 all measured per square foot, per year.<\/p>\n

A company renting office space for $30 a square foot can typically expect the utility bill to be a tenth of that, or $3. The payroll for the employees occupying that space is on the order of $300 per square foot.<\/p>\n

Where then to focus effort?<\/p>\n

    \n
  • 10% saving on utilities nets 30 cents.<\/li>\n
  • 10% drop in rent saves 3 dollars.<\/li>\n
  • 10% boost in worker productivity adds $30 dollars of value.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n