It's World Green Buildings Week - consider your people, plants and equipment

AUSTRALIAN businesses looking at improving the bottom line have been urged to spruce up the offices for a ‘return on interior'.

 

That is the message going out from experts on indoor environments, who claim there is a direct correlation between 'green' offices and long-term workforce performance.

With only 40 percent of Australia's offices having plants, according to a 2011 study by indoor plant specialist Ambius, they warn that business managers are actually missing out on what they term a significant ‘return on interior'.

This week is World Green Buildings Week (September 16-20) and Graeme Armeni from Ambius said it was reminder that ‘greening up' was good for a building and its occupants in a number of subtle ways -- but it can also positively affect the bottom line.

"In addition to creating a pleasant, tranquil office environment there are wider positive returns to be gained from improving and investing in a greener workplace environment," Mr Armeni said.

"Research from University of Technology Sydney and universities in the UK found that indoor plants can improve air quality, well-being and increase productivity."

He said studies carried out at the University of Exeter in the UK showed employees working in environments enriched with plants or artwork, and those who see something of themselves in their workspaces, feel physically more comfortable at work, identify more with their employers, are more productive and feel more positive about their jobs.

By enriching work environments employees are happier, healthier and at least 15 percent more productive than they are in a de-personalised work environment, according to the study by Knight & Haslam in 2010, titled The Relative Merits of Lean, Enriched, and Empowered Offices: An Experimental Examination of the Impact of Workspace Management.

Mr Armeni said, "Having indoor plants can also form part of a business' green commitment and the Green Building Council of Australia recognises the importance of indoor plants through its Green Star program. 

"Many businesses are choosing to combine green building features and office design, an attractive option when you consider the potential impact on workplace productivity and the bottom line."

Ambius interviewed 1500 Australian office workers, in March this year, about their work environments.  Only 8 percent of respondents considered their workplaces as airy or fresh and as few as 14 percent sit near a window or natural light. 

Furthermore, 16 percent never leave their office throughout the working day and 34 percent regularly get headaches at work.  

Research by Dr Fraser Torpy and colleagues at the University of Technology Sydney (UTS) strongly suggests that indoor plants can improve air quality and well-being.

According to Dr Torpy, "Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) emitted from synthetic materials in office furniture, fittings and computers can cause headaches, loss of concentration and other health problems. Carbon dioxide (CO2) has also been linked to drowsiness. 

"Our research proves that plants can reduce potentially harmful VOCs by 80 percent and CO2 by up to 25 percent, so the health benefits are significant.  Plants can also reduce dust levels, refresh air and stabilise temperature and humidity levels. 

"Employers will also be interested to hear that this cleaner air leads to clearer thinking which in turn promotes greater productivity and efficiency."

These results were published in the study Greening the Great Indoors for Human Health and Wellbeing by  Prof. Margaret Burchett (UTS), Dr Fraser Torpy (UTS), Jason Brennan (UTS), Prof. Ashley Craig (Univ. Syd.) through the Plants and Indoor Environmental Quality Group, Centre for Environmental Sustainability (CEnS) at UTS in February 2010.

http://www.ambiusindoorplants.com.au/

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