The Economic Benefits of Green Buildings: A Comprehensive Case Study

TLDR

Green construction has been shown to yield significant economic savings through improved employee productivity, better health and safety, and reductions in energy, maintenance, and operational costs. This article quantifies those benefits by defining measurable performance and building attribute variables, collecting longitudinal data, and conducting statistical and sensitivity analyses for a precast concrete plant near Pittsburgh. The authors gathered longitudinal data on productivity, absenteeism, energy, and financial metrics, performed statistical analyses and sensitivity studies, and reported an engineering economic assessment of the facility. Results indicate a ~25% increase in manufacturing productivity, statistically significant changes in absenteeism, a ~30% reduction in energy use per square foot, and overall economic analysis confirming the green facility was the right decision.

Abstract

Several studies suggest green construction can result in significant economic savings by improving employee productivity, increasing benefits from improvements in health and safety, and providing savings from energy, maintenance, and operational costs. This article quantifies these benefits by establishing a set of measurable performance and building attribute variables, collecting longitudinal data, statistically analyzing the results, and performing sensitivity analyses for a precast concrete manufacturing facility located near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Productivity, absenteeism, energy, and financial data are presented and an engineering economic analysis is reported. Results show that in the new facility manufacturing productivity increased by about 25%; statistically significant absenteeism results varied; and energy usage decreased by about 30% on a square foot basis. Considering all aspects, the economic analysis showed that the company made the correct decision to build a new green facility.