"Green" buildings: good for your health

Seriously. But that’s not all. Studies show that they also make employees happier and more productive. Consider this example from Australia’s beautiful city of Melbourne. At the 500 Collins Street address, the first and oldest refurbished building in Australia to receive a Green Star rating, employee healthcare costs sank by 44%. Billable hours rose by 7%. And, typing performance soared by 49%. Amazing how a 50% improvement in fresh air rates can produce such tangible and important ROI.

Closer to home, Adobe in San Jose isn’t just making employees healthier; the software giant is also using 37% less energy at its Green headquarters, while reducing its water usage by 41%. It’s also diverting 94% of its waste.

This was some of the information shared at Green Tech Media’s recent Green Building Summit in Silicon Valley by a group of passionate eco-materials entrepreneurs and engaging energy-efficiency thought leaders.

Contrary to popular belief, buildings emit substantially higher amounts of Co2 than the better-known pariah, cars and light trucks – 52% versus 9% respectively. And they’re voracious consumers of power, swallowing more than 40% of the country’s energy. According to James Sweeney, director of the Precourt Energy Efficiency Center at Stanford University, energy consumption at the average commercial building breaks out like this: 25% lighting, 13% space cooling, 12% space heating, 7% ventilation, 7% electronics, 6% water heating, 4% refrigeration, 4% computers, 2% cooking and 13% other. 7% is unknown.

Not surprisingly, the national drive to improve building efficiencies is catalyzing the emergence of start-ups offering a rich array of eco-building materials. From ultra-high-efficiency windows, to novel new engineered soils composites, these innovative companies are catapulting what were once niche technologies and products into today’s mainstream. But the leaders of these companies are under no illusions that their products will succeed on the strength of a new eco-conscious mindset. They know that in order to win, their products must be cheaper and better.