Health, Wellbeing and Productivity in Offices

Climate change and the urgency of minimising the carbon footprint of the built environment are driving technological innovation in the way thermal comfort is delivered to building occupants. In recent building developments, international attention has been increasingly focused on the way buildings are designed and operated. There is no doubt that high-quality environmental design can be an investment, as occupants should be healthier, staff-retention rates should be higher, productivity should increase and sustainability ideals are more likely to be met. With the ever increasing focus on climate change mitigation and energy costs major efforts are being directed at improving thermal performance of building envelopes and enhancing the energy efficiency of building services within them. In most instances, however, such initiatives carry implications for the indoor environmental conditions of buildings, particularly on building occupants. To meet ambitious energy targets, and subsequent reductions in greenhouse gases, many sustainable building design and operation strategies are exploring new ways to provide comfort. It is not only occupant comfort that is being examined; occupant productivity is also coming under scrutiny.