A recent article in BusinessWeek misuses data to make its point. “The Dividends from Green Offices” (Christopher Palmeri, December 7, 2009) describes a survey of 2,000 tenants in 154 buildings in the U.S. with Energy Star labels or LEED certification. According to the article, “The survey found that employees took an average 2.9 fewer sick days each year in their environmentally sound offices than in their previous, nongreen workplaces…Some 55% of tenants also reported a rise in employee productivity in their green digs.” The article notes that “most tenants also expressed a belief that their healthier environments helped them retain their staffs and burnish their image with clients.”

Maybe I’m a skeptic, but I’m guessing that the economy may have had an impact on sick days and productivity. There may have been changes in sick leave policies. Or process improvements. Which is more likely, that fewer sick days and higher productivity result from better ventilation and more natural light or from worries about losing your job and having to do more work with fewer people?

And “most tenants expressed a belief”? Where’s the data to support that claim?

There are three statements in the article that seem more solid:

• “Sending tenants individual utility bills caused them to consume 21% less electricity on average.”
• “Green buildings were able to command higher rents” (about 10% higher).
• “Vacancy rates were lower—about 16.6%, vs. 17.2%” (although, again, this could be due to a number of factors).

None of these three statements would necessarily encourage businesses to rent space in a “green” building. However, if you are willing to accept a misleading interpretation of the data about sick days, productivity, staff retention, and your image with clients, moving into a “green” building seems like the smart decision.

A better reason might be lessening your impact on the environment—which should, if all things are relatively equal, be reason enough. The Baldrige Criteria ask how you consider the well-being of environmental systems to which your organization does or may contribute. “Greening” the workplace would be one response to that question.

(5 votes, average: 4.40 out of 5)

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