Design, Productivity & Well-Being: What are the Links?

There is growing recognition that to be truly effective, a facility will need to succeed across three interrelated domains: environmental sustainability, organizational effectiveness, and human well being. There is also a growing consensus among the sustainable design community that “green” buildings may be a vehicle by which benefits in all three domains can be achieved.

This article will draw upon the conceptual framework and results from a study funded by the U.S. Department of Energy (Building, Technology, State and Community Programs) to identify and assess the “ancillary benefits” of green buildings. Ancillary benefits are defined as unexpected, or hidden, positive outcomes that accrue as a result of the green building, but which are not directly related to its energy efficiency and green features. The project analyzed both individual and organizational level outcomes.