What can Green do for you?

UPS had a successful campaign a few years ago with the tagline, "What can Brown do for you?" As it turned out, Brown can do quite a bit, including deliver packages to your car when you're stranded because of a hurricane or other disaster. But what can Green do for you?

We are often confronted by "the green premium" for everything from cars (Toyota's Prius) to the cost-effectiveness of wind energy on a small scale (financial payback is on the order of 17 years). Of course, the triple bottom line of people, planet, and profits makes this cost-benefit analysis a lot more favorable.

In a current project for the California Health Care Foundation and the Center for Health Design, I'm building a cost-benefit tool that shows the costs and benefits of green, among other design features when building community health clinics. The economics apply to most types of buildings, as well.

Looking at healthcare facilities, those that pursue LEED-level green design have found themselves with very good financial benefits. In fact, those benefits generally outweigh the first costs of green--the green premium. Green-designed facilities average 30% lower energy costs because of more efficient use of energy (e.g., LED lighting, high-efficiency HVAC systems). Better use of water resources--both inside and outside the facility--also produces net. financial benefits.

Perhaps the most intriguing benefit of green design are the productivity benefits. Employees in these green buildings use fewer sick days, stay with the organization longer, have lower absenteeism, and are easier to recruit to work in the organization. Experts tag this productivity increase at 0.5-1.5%, which can add up to nearly $1 million annually for a 30,000 square foot clinic.

So, you may not be able to justify the $3,000-$5,000 green premium for your ride, but it's quite a bit easier to justify for your green-designed building.