The World Green Building Council (WorldGBC) has launched a new global project outlining the benefits of green offices relating to health and productivity.

The project, which is not yet titled, will look at how modest improvements to staff health and productivity can have a major impact on the profitability of an organization. Around 85 per cent of a company’s costs are spent on salaries and benefits, which has led to increased discussion about the benefits of greener, healthier buildings.

The project builds upon WorldGBC research published in The Business Case for Green Buildings report last year, which researched the health benefits of sustainable buildings.

When building owners improve ventilation, it can lead to up to 11 per cent gains in productivity, while improved lighting design can improve productivity by 23 per cent. Green retrofits have also been found to improve employee recruitment and retention.

Though the data suggests improvements in health and productivity, it is difficult to attach a financial value to them. The new WorldGBC project will create a series of best practices for green building features that add financial benefits to an office building. This list of best practices, which relate to topics such as daylighting, ventilation and indoor office environments, could be used to inform green building investment decisions.

“While there is a growing body of research that firmly supports the connections between sustainable buildings and improved health, productivity and learning outcomes of those who occupy them, this evidence is yet to inform investment decisions in the same way as traditional financial metrics,” says Jane Henley, CEO of WorldGBC. “This project aims to identify the metrics that will support investment in greener buildings.”

The project will see the WorldGBC partner with corporate sponsors Jones Lang LaSalle, Lend Lease and Skanska, as well as Green Building Councils of Hong Kong, United Kingdom, Unites States and Colombia.