To See Better Return on Investment Flexible Workspaces Should Go Green

Dodge Data & Analytics recent SmartMarket Report “The Drive Toward Healthier Buildings 2016: Tactical Intelligence to Transform Building Design and Construction” states that buildings with more than 60% of green projects offer a better return on investment than those doing 15% or fewer green projects.

We are all a part of an increasingly green marketplace, where significant value is placed on health and sustainability. In the past, green building and building for health purposes were seen as two separate causes. This has changed in recent times, with architects, designers, and building managers and owners realizing that sustainable building practices are closely related to occupant health and wellbeing.

According to the Dodge Data & Analytics report, “the green building movement is promoting the awareness and use of healthier building practices.”

One of the reasons why the green movement has taken off in recent years is because, “the return on (the) investment component of green buildings is starting to get proven.” Or so believes Lisa Bate, regional managing principal, North America, for B+H Architects.

Ever since sustainable building materials and construction practices became available, budgeting issues have been an obstacle that not many have overcome. “All of the players consider budget concerns to be the biggest challenge (both for green building and for healthier buildings),” the report reads. However, a building owner that participated in the study believes that, “if you can make a good business case based on productivity or nancial measurements, budget challenges are less of a concern.”

This is a claim that the Dodge Data & Analytics research has supported and vouched for since 2006. Luckily, concerns about higher costs as an obstacle decrease in most cases as the business benefits of green become clearer to building (or business) owners and managers.

The Green and Healthy Business Case for Flexible Workspaces

The report claims that “81% of respondents from companies with a high level of green involvement (doing more than 60% green projects) report that building health impacts are very influential on their design and construction decisions.”

As we saw last month in Allwork, wellness can have a big impact on member attraction and retention.  By adding green building practices to your workspace, you are more likely to implement the 12 healthier building features that the report focuses on, which will help lower your churn rates and attract new members that share the same green and wellness values.

According to Dodge Data & Analytics, this happens because “it is likely that those with a high level of green involvement have a more holistic knowledge of the impact of buildings on the health of their occupants.”

However, the report also stresses the importance of not only implementing green building practices, but of also creating a culture that embraces the sustainability mindset.

“There is increased awareness in the building industry that attention must be paid to building operations and facility management to achieve the full performance of a green building. Simple building to a high standard is not enough.”

This is a crucial step in order to see a better return on investment and fewer vacancy rates in your workspace. It’s no use to have a fully built-out green building if the person in charge of managing it doesn’t make it his or her responsibility to make sure that green practices are part of the day to day operations.

Flexible workspace operators should be actively implementing green practices in their spaces, including efforts that drive better health and wellbeing.

Sara Neff, Senior Vice President at Kilroy, believes that “health is another parameter they should be looking at when they’re evaluating the sustainability of a company.” According to Neff, combining health and sustainability efforts in a company (or in your case, in the workspace) imply the potential for “even more increased leasing and reduced vacancies.”

Which translates to better return on investment.

We say screw the budget, go green, and see how your workspace ROI kicks in.