theSun Property November 2017

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WHENwe talk about green
living, what often comes
tomind is bringing
“nature and sustainable
practices” into the home. While this is
important, many forget that for most
of us in the workforce, a large bulk of
our waking hours are spent at the
office. Therefore, are we really fully
benefiting from the advantages of an
eco-friendly home environment?
With that, let’s see how sustainable
practices at thework place can benefit
the people, indirectly, the business.
CONCERNINGGREEN
At the recent International Urban
Sustainability&Green Building
Conference (IUSGBC) 2017, which
was organised byMalaysia Green
Building Confederation (MGBC) in
conjunctionwith the International
Greentech&Eco Products Exhibition
&ConferenceMalaysia (IGEM) 2017,
there were talks which highlighted a
dire need for green initiatives in the
workplace.
One suchwas on “Better Places for
People and theWellbeing Labs”,
delivered byUKGreen Building
Council (UK-GBC) sustainability
advisor Elinor Huggett. The basis of
Huggett’s talkwas gleaned from the
results of a project called the
Wellbeing Lab conducted byUK-
GBC andWorldGBC. She sharedwith
the audience how green initiatives, no
matter how small, can be
incorporated into an everyday office
environment and elaborated how it
can benefit the occupants/business.
“If youwant sustainability to
becomemainstream then you
absolutelymust appeal to bottom-line
(costs and expenses) as well,” she
said. “Being able tomake a financial
case for green buildings is really
important. It may not be amain driver
in a business set-up, but if considered
andworked into the DNA of a
business, in the long run the benefits
can be huge and far-reaching.”
TheWellbeing Lab report
revealed that “there are synergies
between design for human health and
design for positive environmental
impact”. These are identified across
several areas:
INDOOR AIR QUALITY AND
VENTILATION
“Studies we looked up showed that
improving indoor air quality and
ventilation can result in an 8% to 11%
improvement in the productivity of
the people working in those areas,”
Huggett explained.
When incorporating natural
materials into the office building
design, take note of its volatile organic
compound (VOC) levels. Adding
plants into the office helps reduce the
presence of internal pollutants such
as carbon dioxide and VOCs.
Huggett suggests using the Nasa
Clean Air Study as a reference guide
when choosing plants to incorporate
in an area. (The study also appeared
in our October interior design article.)
By implementingmeasures to keep
the air clean and healthy, the need for
mechanical ventilation is reduced,
which in turn, reduces the energy
needed to power the ventilation. The
outcome: lower costs.
VIEWS AND VISTAS
Studies suggest that being able to look
out the window and take a rest from
the computer screen (or whatever
“gadget screen” you are working on)
gives your eyes amoment to reset.
This results in a 7% to 12% increase in
productivity.
A study by environmental
psychologist Roger Ulrich is one of
themost heavily cited studies to
support this fact. Findings revealed
that looking at nature garnered a
more positive impact on the recovery
process of hospital patients compared
to those who lived in sterile environs
(who took a lot longer to recover from
their illness).
Scientific Americanwriter
Deborah Franklin also noted in her
rticle “HowHospital Gardens Help
Patients Heal”—that multiple studies
have proven that spending just three
to fiveminutes looking at views
dominated by trees, flowers or water,
can reduce anger, anxiety and pain,
while also inducing relaxation.
If one has access to nature views
fromyour work space, there is huge
chance that one also receives
sufficient amounts of daylight
filtering into the work space.
Why is it important to invite
daylight into the work space?Well,
besides the VitaminD the body
produces via skin being exposed to
sunlight, Huggett says that in the era
of digital work spaces, the unnoticed
and subtle blue light emitted from
computers and electronic devices
affect our circadian rhythm
(otherwise known as our body’s
internal/natural clock).
“Because our sleep cycles are
regulated by this ‘clock’ which is
affected by external factors like
daylight and nighttime, and because
our brain is ‘tricked’ by this blue light
(which suppresses melatonin)—our
circadian rhythmgets messed up,
interrupting the quality of sleep and
sleep cycles,” Huggett explained.
Therefore, looking that there is
more than one benefit to giving
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Sustainability works
>People-centricbenefits of ‘goinggreen’ atwork
GREENSERIES
nature the once-over, try to invite
some sunlight into your office space
and gaze at nature every now and
then. Bosses, don’t penalise
employees for “looking out the
window” or “sun gazing”, stealing
time away from the device they’re
working on – you’ll reap the benefits
in higher productivity and fewerMCs
mong other ways.
AMENITIES AND LOCATION
Having amenities such as shops,
restaurants and gyms is muchmore
than just being able to enjoy a lovely
setting to your surrounding office
environment; it encourages people/
employees to spend time outside –
think fresh air, greenery, sunlight, and
keeping active.
In terms of location, having really
good public transport connections or
even cycling facilities, will have an
impact on both the employee’s health
and the environment. Having
amenities situated “near enough” will
encourage people/employees to take
time off and leave their work spaces,
encouraging one to get mobile/active,
yet without requiring the use of a
motorised/carbon-emitting vehicle.
The end goal is to encourage
“active transport”, which in turn
reduces building associated transport
emissions Huggett informed. Side
benefits include better health as being
active is good for the heart and overall
wellbeing.
COMFORTABLE AND
PERSONALWORK SPACES
According toHuggett, giving people
some personal freedomover their
work space can increase productivity
by about 3%. She suggests allowing
staff the freedom to openwindows (if
at all they have access to a window)
for appropriate lighting and
temperature control of their working
environment. She also says flexible
seating arrangements, as in having the
free-hand to decide where to sit, has
an impact, on the company, the
individual and the environment.
From “hoteling” (unassigned/
reservable office spaces) to “hot
esking” (minus the reserve function,
which turns out like a first-come, first-
served concept) and “alternative
workplace strategy” (covering a
broader idea of work spaces that
define work zones beyond the usual
cubicles and offices, as in outdoors or
even indoors as in huddles in
conference rooms, office pantries,
etc.)—as in all circumstances, there
are pros and cons.
However, Huggett shared that
office designs which includemore
social spaces and visible staircases are
one of her favourite health and
wellbeing elements. “These are
brilliant thinking; they get people to
move aroundmore and interact with
their colleagues more,” she explained.
The freedom to choose one’s
preferredwork area and being able to
select comfortable surroundings and
control temperatures have positive
effects; based on the idea of creating
stronger social groups that can
produce better business results and
cultivating better chi/positive energy,
etc.
This “conscious design” also
uses less energywithout the need
for lifts. However, Huggett added,
“It doesn’t work as well in high rise
situations though. But even if within
the floors of your spaces, people
could take the lift up to your portion
of the high rise at the beginning of the
day, then the rest of the day, move
between the different floors via the
staircase.”
In open-plan office layouts, the
resulting background noisemay pose
a problem for concentration. Huggett
recommends designing a variety of
spaces so people can choose quiet or
noisy areas to suit their preference.
“Having a wide variety of space and
the option to choose actually really
helps people tomove around and
maximise their productivity at any
one point.”
Towards the end of her talk,
Huggett shared that there is no point
having healthy buildings which are
good for the environment but not the
people.
In her role at the UK-GBC,
Huggett says: “People respond to the
‘health in productivity’ argument in a
way that they don’t with
sustainability. Campaigning and
working towards amore sustainable-
built environment is always good for
people in the long-run.” She summons
governments and those in the
building industry to create buildings
that are not just good for the
environment, but supports healthier,
happier andmore productive lives.
THE BENEFITS OF
GREEN BUILDINGS
There are many benefits to
gain the environment, the
economy and the people,
across various levels. Plus
points go beyond economics
and the environment, and
have been shown to bring
positive social impact. Health
and wellbeing of people who
work in green offices or live
in green homes are notably
better.
X Workers in green, well-
ventilated offices record a
101% increase in cognitive
scores (brain function)
– Harvard T.H. Chan School
of Public Health / Syracuse
University Center of
Excellence / SUNY Upstate
Medical School, 2015.
X Employees in offices with
windows slept an average of
46 minutes more per night
– American Academy of
Sleep Medicine, 2013.
X Research suggests that
better indoor air quality
(low concentrations of
CO2 and pollutants, and
high ventilation rates) can
lead to improvements in
performance of up to 8%
– Park and Yoon, 2011.
Retrievedfromwww
BY ALYSSA J. OON
PHOTOS /DEZEEN.COM
PHOTOS /DIVISARE.COM
PHOTOS /DESIGNBOOM.COM
PHOTOS /PINTHEMALL.NET
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theSun ON FRIDAY | NOVEMBER3,2017