The Business Case for Using Sustainable Products in Design and Construction.

I’ve always been fascinated by clients who ask about the business case for sustainability. It means they don’t understand what sustainability is, what opportunities, benefits and ramifications it represents, how it engages them, even down to how it doesn’t necessarily affect the price of the products they use in their projects.

Let me explain. If you asked a client, “Would you like me to specify toxic or non-toxic paints in your baby nursery?” Do you think their first response would be “Well what does it cost?” In my experience (yes I’ve actually asked that question of clients numerous times), their first reaction is ‘Well non-toxic obviously, I don’t want my baby exposed to toxic chemicals!” Their second response might then ask about costs. Now flip to the Board Room, and ask the same question and the response is often the cost question first. Why do you think that is? Let’s be honest about it.

Historically, many haven’t cared about the people who would occupy the homes or buildings in the end. The number of companies and projects that do care now is at its highest ever…evidenced by the growth of sustainability certified projects and the growth in the rating schemes certifying them. Schemes like Green Star?, the International WELL? Building Standard (WELL?), the Infrastructure Sustainability (IS) rating tool, EarthCheck?, the Living Building Challenge (LBC), EnviroDevelopment, even the USA rating tool LEED is used in Australia, as well as sustainability frameworks like ‘One Planet Living’. So more professionals are caring more, because more clients and lessees are insisting on it. Let’s look at some statistics.

According to the Green Building Council of Australia (GBCA), there are currently 2,350 Green Star certifications and:

• 40% of office and retail space is Green Star certified
• 6% of the workforce head to a green office each day
• 3 million people visit a Green Star-rated shopping centre each day
• 60,000 people live in Green Star-rated apartments
• 480,000 people are moving into Green Star communities.

The WELL? program exploded into Australia several years ago now and currently certified also approximately 40% of all commercial interiors for the healthiness of their fitout and business operations. According to Rick Fedrizzi the WELL? CEO, ‘What sets WELL apart is its requirement for performance testing. We evaluate more than 60 performance indicators, requiring over 20 tests and using more than 10 pieces of equipment to actually verify the performance”. WELL has been so successful here, Australia is now the third largest market for WELL worldwide.

The reason for this is well established, consumers and workers are much more aware and demanding and paying for more sustainable products and services.

I unpack this business case for sustainability in more detail. If you want to read further, PLEASE go to my full write up on SOURCEABLE