Tell Us How you Really Feel

A survey was conducted by McGraw-Hill Construction and CB Richard Ellis to see how occupants felt about the high performance buildings they use. Would those buildings reflect high levels of occupant satisfaction?

Results of the survey, made public as part of Greenbuild’s Thought Leadership & Research Track, found that of the 1065 respondents, 28% work in buildings that have or are seeking LEED certification. Respondents represented a wide range of industries and sectors, but were predominantly from insurance, legal services, energy and public utilities, financial services and investment, and engineering, design and construction. Interestingly, a larger percentage of legal and financial services companies were found to occupy LEED buildings – which the authors hypothesize is due to their occupancy of high-profile buildings in the urban core.

Understanding the value tenants give their green/high performing components is critical in order to develop a road map for increasing future investment into green office construction and renovations.

Occupants were found to place a high emphasis on working in a green building, with 63% of respondents labeling it “somewhat important” to “very important” when considering an employer. Of those working in LEED buildings, 71% were familiar with the certification scheme, compared to only 58% of those occupying ENERGY STAR-labeled buildings. However, in each case, few occupants knew whether their buildings had obtained or were in the process of obtaining a certification.

Features that most immediately impact personal comfort, such as comfortable indoor temperature and high indoor air quality, were rated as important by the largest percentage of respondents, but interestingly respondents reported modest levels of satisfaction in some of the same categories. The authors, however, are careful to note that an occupant has limited ability to accurately discern indoor air quality, except when the air is ‘severely deficient.’ So, while some individual green features were rated poorly, overall occupant satisfaction in green buildings was rather high, with 73% of green building occupants reporting high levels of overall satisfaction (78% in LEED buildings).

The survey’s authors conclude that because tenant firms are driven by their occupants, increasing occupant understanding and awareness of green buildings can potentially lead to greater adoption of green building and retrofitting practices.