Most assuredly! According to APUT-The Association of Property Unit Trusts - there are lots of  benefits to green building and being environmentally friendly, some of the benefits include health, community and also economic benefits

What are the benefits of a green building?

Apart from the obvious benefits of having the least negative impact on the environment, are there other reasons to favour green buildings?

"Yes”, says Craig Hallowes, spokesperson for the Association of Property Unit Trusts (APUT). “For example, did you know that good daylighting increases productivity by 13%, can increase retail sales by 40%, and can increase school test scores by 5%?”

Hallowes continues: “The benefits of green buildings are generally grouped into three broad categories, the well-documented environmental benefits, the health and community benefits and the economic benefits.”

Environmental benefits

These are generally the most familiar – after all a green building is defined as one which is designed to lessen the impact of a building on the environment. The most notable benefits are therefore that they:
-Conserve natural resources
-Enhance and protect ecosystems and biodiversity
-Improve air and water quality
-Reduce waste

Health and community benefits

Research shows that green buildings create a healthier working environment and result in increased productivity for users. This contributes to the overall quality of life of the users as their comfort and health improve, but there are other notable benefits such as better learning in the case of students and less ‘sick building syndrome’.

The Canada Green Building Council notes the following gains:
-Good daylighting increases productivity by 13% and can increase retail sales by 40%
-Can increase school test scores by 5%
-Increased ventilation increases productivity by 4 to 17%
-Better quality ventilation reduces sickness by 9 to 50%
-Increase ventilation control increases productivity by 0.5 to 11%

The low glare associated with daylighting (the maximum use of daylight: i.e. windows) improves performance by 15 to 21%. In addition to energy savings produced, daylighting generally raises tenant satisfaction and comfort. The US Dept of Energy notes that “Recent studies are implying improvements in productivity and health in daylighted schools and offices. Windows also provide visual relief, a contact with nature, time orientation, the possibility of ventilation, and emergency egress.”

Economic benefits

Perhaps of most interest to property owners are the economic benefits. The fact that tenants prefer green buildings implies that they will pay premium rentals and have a higher occupancy rate, while many multinationals now require green buildings.

According to the Green Building Council of SA, green buildings do not necessarily cost more. In fact they save on operating costs, especially on a lifecycle basis. For example, by offsetting a portion of the electric lighting load daylighting can offer significant energy savings. A related benefit of daylighting is the reduction in cooling requirements.

In general, electricity and water consumption can be substantially reduced, resulting in lower operating costs. These lower operating expenses, in turn, result in higher net rentals which equates to higher cap values. With costs down and income up, asset value and profits are enhanced.

“The advantage is that there are significant long term savings,” states Hallowes, “and the costs to develop a green building are not as high as expected. Not only that, there is the satisfaction of knowing that one is doing the right thing in terms of the environment, sustainability and global warming, not to mention our power shortages.”

“As a result of these benefits,” he adds, “APUT members are increasingly moving towards green buildings in the case of new developments, while also examining ways in which existing buildings can be retrofitted to acquire green status.”