A study conducted by the University of San Diego and CB Richard Ellis Group, Inc (CBRE) found that tenants of green buildings experience increased productivity and fewer sick days. It also found green buildings have lower vacancy and higher rental rates.
Of course, anyone involved in green building already knows this to be
true. But now we have a solid and credible piece of research to underline the point. It's something we can point to for clients, partners and
suppliers that need to be persuaded of the value of green building.
The report entitled "Do Green Buildings Make Dollars and Sense?" (PDF document), is the product of a year-long research effort and is the largest study of its kind to date.
The research found that tenants in green buildings are more productive, based on two measures: the average number of tenant sick days and the self-reported productivity change. Respondents reported an average of 2.88 fewer sick days in their current green office versus their previous non-green office, and about 55% of respondents indicated that employee productivity had improved. The decrease in sick days translated into a net impact of nearly $5.00 per square foot occupied, and the increase in productivity translated into a net impact of about $20 per square foot occupied.
The study also showed that green buildings have 3.5% lower vacancy rates and 13% higher rental rates than the market.The research effort surveyed 154 buildings under CBRE’s management, totaling more than 51.6 million square feet and housing 3,000 tenants in ten markets across the U.S. The study defined a green building as those with LEED certification at any level or those that bear the EPA ENERGY STAR ® label. All of the ENERGY STAR ® buildings in the survey group had been awarded that label since 2008. Most of the buildings included in the research had also adopted other sustainable practices like recycling, green cleaning and water conservation.
The survey also indicated that 18% of tenants are willing to pay more for green space, and that tenants believe healthy indoor environments positively impact staff retention (61%) and client image (70%). Additionally, 71% of respondents felt that green lease provisions are increasingly important. According to the study, each additional point of ENERGY STAR ® rating saved 0.8-1.0% in electricity and separate metering yielded a 21% energy savings, more than any other factor. These findings are generally consistent with other research on this topic, which has determined buildings with the ENERGY STAR ® label, LEED certification or other identified sustainable programs generally perform better.
CBRE was recently ranked among Newsweek’s top 50 greenest large companies in America. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has named CBRE an ENERGY STAR® Partner of the Year for the past two years, the only commercial real estate services firm so recognized with that award. The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) has awarded CB Richard Ellis its Leadership Award for Organizational Excellence and the industry group, CoreNet, recognized CBRE with a special commendation for Sustainable Leadership and Design – Development.
Just as my back starts to recover from Saturday's work at a Habitat home in Durham, I'm delighted to read in the N&O an article about how charity built homes are getting greener. The N&O article says that 80% of these low income homes built by charities like 
