Green-certified buildings increase worker wellbeing
Research has revealed that those who work in green-certified buildings score higher in cognitive function tests, demonstrate fewer sick building symptoms and experience higher quality of sleep.
These were the findings uncovered by researchers at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and SUNY Upstate Medical University, who studied 109 workers in 10 buildings across the United States.
Their study builds on the 2015 COGfx Study, which found significantly higher cognitive function test scores for office workers in a simulated green building environment that has enhanced ventilation, compared to a conventional building environment.
“Certified green buildings not only deliver environmental benefits, they can have positive impacts on the productivity and thinking of the people in those buildings,” said John Mandyck, chief sustainability officer, United Technologies.
“That’s a powerful combination that can accelerate the green building movement globally.”
Employees in high-performing, green-certified buildings were shown to have 26% higher cognitive function test scores than those in similarly high-performing buildings that were not green certified, even after controlling for other potential explanatory factors.
Participants also had 73% higher crisis response scores, 44% higher applied activity level scores and 38% higher focused activity level scores. In addition, they scored 31% higher in strategy.
The study also found that employees reported 30% fewer sick building symptoms and had 6% higher sleep quality scores compared to those working in high-performing buildings that were not green-certified.
“We’re advocating for what we call Buildingomics — a new approach that examines the totality of factors in the building-related environment,” said Dr Joseph Allen, assistant professor of Exposure Assessment Science at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and director of the Healthy Buildings Program at the Center for Health and the Global Environment.
“Through Buildingomics’ multidisciplinary approach, we aim to better understand the factors that influence health in buildings and unlock the ability to optimise buildings for improved cognitive function and health,” said Allen.
The new study was presented pre-publication at the US Green Building Council’s annual Greenbuild conference in LA.
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