The human civilisation has had deep-rooted connections with the natural environment since time immemorial. For quite a substantial amount of time, nature’s bounty was what provided us humans with clothing, food, and shelter. Then, a change emerged with the transition to urbanised living.

The Urban Shift 

A stark observation over time has displayed the distance between humans and nature. Many reports suggest the imperativeness of exposure to nature that affects our happiness and longevity. Studies about modern day workplaces illustrate the benefits of human-nature contact in doubling productivity and improving employee health and well-being. Most often, this is reflected by implementing the concept of sustainability in workspace design. 

Sustainability: A Necessity Today?

Once a trend for the elite, businesses are increasingly going green in the backdrop of environmental conservation. Sustainable architecture has become the norm with workplaces adopting self-sustaining processes and technologies to reduce their environmental footprint. The office space is witnessing sustainable design oriented towards both employees and productivity. 

You Achieve A Healthy Workplace

A sustainable office design would be able to put together processes and systems that will put a positive turn to how air, water, and the atmosphere are affected. 

• Cut down on the wastage of non-renewable resources and begin to include nature into your design. 
• You can benefit greatly from cleaner air and access to natural lighting as opposed to artificially lit spaces. 
• Combine techniques that elevate all five human senses to lead to create a healthier, productive environment. 

You can achieve this with the help of installations that pave the way to better acoustics, comfortable temperatures, and tangible natural elements.

You Achieve A Healthier Workforce

Many professionals and employees today are ranking workplace well-being quite high on their list. If you happen to have a healthy workplace, it will ultimately lead to a healthier workforce operating inside of it. 

• Installing proper lighting fixtures, incorporating organic furnishings, providing excellent ventilation would pave way for employees that fall ill less often. 
• Simple renovations in terms of the use of energy around your office will help you turn it into a high-performance environment.

Such a workplace will have employees who are more willing to come to work, take less sick leave and display greater levels of productivity. 

You Achieve Cost Efficiency

America’s department of energy conducted intensive research with regards to the expenses that are incurred by a business that decides to go green in the design. It was found that there was a dip up to 30%- 50% in annual energy costs and an ROI in about 5-10 years. This debases the myth that going green comes at an exorbitant price.

• Take advantage of renewable energy through solar panels.
• Set up sensor taps and rainwater harvesting techniques as energy-efficient solutions. 
• Design a workplace to promote recycling, reusing, and repurposing of materials

This would provide commendable help in waste management and reduction strategies in addition to becoming a cost efficient strategy. 

Dr. Edward O. Wilson, an American biologist, and naturalist has famously said, "Nature holds key to our aesthetic, intellectual, cognitive and even spiritual satisfaction".

When it comes to office design, research conducted by Warwick University shows a 12% increase in productivity among happy employees. These happy employees are able to find their state of professional balance within an office space that puts them in direct contact with natural elements.

In Conclusion

A sustainable office space that drives productivity, conservation and employee well-being is able to drive efficiency without any qualitative sacrifice. As similar studies bring out and highlight the benefits of sustainable office design, businesses have begun to take notice. Energy efficient light fixtures, ergonomically designed furnishings, and aesthetic floorplans are paving the way for the great outdoors indoors to come inside. 

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