Why Your Workspace Should Go Green: What We Learned During the World Green Building Week

Published on October 5, 2016 - By Cecilia Amador de San José

The World Green Building Week, organized by the World Green Building Council, took place last week (September 26th – October 2nd). Across the world, people gathered to raise awareness of green buildings, to learn about the latest trends and reports, and how to create better places for people to work and live.

Allwork attended the Green Building Expo held in Guatemala City, where we learned that LEED Buildings and sustainable construction practices are becoming the norm in Guatemala. However, during the course of the week, we also closely monitored the hashtag #WGBW16 to learn about what was being said in meetings across borders and countries.

Although going green is good for the environment, that is not the only reason why flexible workspace operators should consider adopting sustainable practices. Sustainable practices can help save some of the world’s resources, but they can also help reduce costs and, more importantly, they can greatly contribute to your workspace users’ wellbeing.

Here are some facts we learned last week that strengthened our belief that sustainability is the way to go to create a successful and long-term business.

• “Green offices can cut building expenses by up to 30%.” (Bayer in Guatemala City was able to cut about half of its expenses by using LED lights, opening up the workspace, letting more natural light in, and implementing an environmentally conscious workplace culture.)
• “Cities consume about 75% of global energy.” You can help lower your city’s energy consumption by implementing green practices within your workspace.
• “Making buildings more energy efficient could save €410 billion by 2030.”
• “In Australia, Green Star Buildings emit 62% fewer greenhouse gases and use 66% less energy.”
• “Green building can cut 19.4 million tonnes of GHGs while boosting the economy by $32.5billion.”
• “Green buildings can consume up to 11% less water.” Less water use = less expenses + better environment.
• “Buildings use about 14% of the world’s drinking water.”
• “Workers in green buildings have 27% higher job satisfaction.” We know you want your workspace staff and members to be happy (and productive).
• “Indoor pollutants can be up to 10x higher than outside.” That is, except in green buildings. Be the exception; keep your air clean and your members healthy.
• On the same note as the previous bullet point, “The impact buildings can have on our health costs up to €50 billion.”
• “Workers in Green Star workplaces report up to 15% boost in productivity and fewer sick days.”
• “72% of UK workers want to be based in an eco-friendly building.” We like to believe that the percentage is equally as high in other countries as well.

There are various ways to implement sustainable practices in your workspace. We will be covering sustainability during the month of October, sharing with you different practices, approaches, and trends towards better workplace construction and design. 

Flexible workspace operators who implement sustainable practices in their buildings are urged to contact Allwork.Space to take part in an interview and an article about your space.