New Ways of Working Network

GREEN BUILDINGS: A Strategic Perspective A recent survey by U.S. Green Building Council shows that many of its members believe sustainable building design will become a more common practice once the human benefits are identified, primarily the productivity gains believed to be associated with the provision of high quality interior environments (USGBC, 1999). However, there is little understanding of how such benefits might accrue. That is, what are the key green building features and attributes? How do these physical elements affect the physiological, psychological, cognitive, and social functioning of building occupants? Just as important from a business perspective: can green buildings affect high-level organizational outcomes, such as profitability, customer satisfaction, and innovation? If so, what are the linkages?

A full understanding of the human and organizational benefits of green buildings demands a broader perspective that links building design, organizational performance, and human factors research. Recent research on the biophysical foundations of organizations also suggests that a better understanding of business-society-nature links could provide beneficial insights about green buildings and business strategy (Gladwin et al, 1995). As the most visible manifestation of corporate values and ethics, buildings provide a unique insight into the workings of an organization – a view that is not well understood. This paper explores the wider context of sustainable design, integrating work from organizational effectiveness and human factors in an effort to broaden our understanding and lay the foundation for future research on the costs and values of sustainable design. At the present time, the conversation is dominated by costs because methods for calculating costs are more highly developed and more readily accepted than methods for assessing benefits and value. As a consequence of this imbalance, much of the work cited in this paper is theoretical rather than empirical. However, good research depends on good theory to guide the selection of questions and methodologies.