Benefits of green offices in the UK: Analysis from examples built in the 1990s

This paper examines the evolution in the UK of green offices against a background of changing government and industry perspectives. A key factor discussed is the emergence of evidence that such buildings can lead to improvements in productivity in the workforce and hence greater competitiveness for the company involved. The paper reviews the measures and criteria employed for evaluating the performance of green buildings at the critical interface between environmental and economic factors. There is a general overview of the design and corporate ambition behind a number of green offices built in the 1990s and a more detailed examination of one. The paper reaches a number of conclusions of interest outside the UK, notably that users of buildings should be more involved in project briefing in order for the energy, health and productivity benefits to be effectively integrated. The paper also highlights the different perspectives held by clients, designers and users of green offices and how these alter the motivations at the genesis of a project. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.