Sustainability Certifications and Impacts on Business ·...

Sustainability Certifications and Impacts on Business

Item Type text

Authors Sanders, Maddison

Publisher The University of Arizona.

Rights Copyright © is held by the author. Digital access to this materialis made possible by the College of Architecture, Planning andLandscape Architecture, and the University Libraries, Universityof Arizona. Further transmission, reproduction or presentation(such as public display or performance) of protected items isprohibited except with permission of the author.

Download date 09/02/2021 02:11:01

Link to Item http://hdl.handle.net/10150/623463

http://hdl.handle.net/10150/623463

0

Sustainability Certifications and Impacts on Business Maddison Sanders Sustainable Built Environments | Senior Capstone | Spring 2017 | Mentor: Omar Youssef

08 Fall


1

Table of Contents

ABSTRACT 2

INTRODUCTION 3

LITERARY REVIEW 4 SUSTAINABLE BUILDINGS 4

ENERGY USE IN BUILDINGS 5

BUILDINGS IMPACTS ON WELLBEING 6

SUSTAINABLE BUILDING CERTIFICATIONS 8

LEED 8 LIVING BUILDING CHALLENGE 9 NET-‐ZERO ENERGY CERTIFICATION 10 IMPACTS ON BUSINESSES 11

METHODOLOGY 13 CASE STUDY: MOSAIC CENTRE 14

CASE STUDY: DPR CONSTRUCTION-‐ PHOENIX 20

DISCUSSION 23

CONCLUSION 25

REFERENCES 27

100% ENGAGEMENT 30


2

ABSTRACT

Sustainable certifications are expanding in popularity within the built environment

as the construction industry is progressing towards sustainability, while benefits are

becoming more valuable to the businesses that reside in sustainably certified spaces. These

benefits, such as thermal comfort and natural daylighting, not only translate to enhancing

employee’s health, but employers within sustainably certified buildings have found greater

retention rates in employees, improved business recruitment, as well as higher

productivity in employees. The range of this analysis is directed towards two businesses

that reside in sustainably certified buildings, DPR Construction-‐Phoenix in Arizona and the

Mosaic Centre for Conscious Community and Commerce in Edmonton, Canada. Both

buildings will be assessed for the impact their sustainable space have on their business.

The purpose of this study is to examine the impacts of holistic and specific components of

sustainability certifications, exclusively LEED and Net Zero Energy, on businesses. The

study was unique as it was conducted by interviewing an integral consultant/designer in

the construction process that still currently works in the building. The interview revealed

that DPR Construction found employees to be more comfortable in their workspace, thus

suggesting that productivity would be improved however this cannot be measured. The

Mosaic Centre found new business advantages such as utilizing the space for tours and

community engagement opportunities that have given the businesses within the Mosaic

Centre unique marketing opportunities to improve business. This analysis will help

commercial building owners gain insight on the business impacts of implementing

sustainable building components to achieve a LEED certification, Net-‐Zero Status or a

Living Building Challenge certification.


3

INTRODUCTION

As the construction industry is progressing towards sustainability, benefits are

being produced across businesses, such as increased employee recruitment and retention

rates. 61% of corporate leaders believe sustainability leads to market differentiation and

improved financial performance according to the USGBC (United States Green Building

Council, 2016). Owning a business with a ‘green stamp’ has become an increasingly

valuable asset to any company, as it gives a market edge. Tenants are looking for buildings

that meet the LEED criteria and landlords can lease green buildings for as high as 20%

above average (United States Green Building Council). Sustainable technologies are

becoming more available as people want to produce an increasingly sustainable built

environment.

Many sustainable technologies are becoming more accessible to property owners of

all income levels. With growth in accessibility, implementation should be increasing at an

even higher rate. It is imperative to study commercial buildings to discover what

technologies, or behavior modifications, can be made to increase sustainability in the built

environment. Commercial buildings have a high level of occupancy throughout the day;

however, they are underutilized at night. Commercial building owners are more often

willing to invest in sustainable technologies for a variety of reasons. It is necessary to study

how operating a business in a ‘green’ facility can lead to benefits or disadvantages.

Understanding how to utilize green features in commercial buildings is important-‐ a

sustainable building is useless if it is operated inefficiently.

This research investigates how it is necessary to study how operating a business in a

‘green’ facility can lead to benefits or disadvantages. Establishing a consistent standard for


4

guidelines in defining ‘green facilities’ creates consistent data analysis, this study utilizes

the already established LEED certification, Net Zero Energy certification, furthermore will

look briefly at Living Building Challenge certification; as well as clearly defining what

sustainable development encompasses. The purpose of this study is to investigate the

impact of sustainability certifications on businesses, additionally which implemented

components have impacted the business’ social and economic factors the most.

LITERARY REVIEW

Sustainable Buildings

Sustainability development is defined as ‘development that meets the needs of the

present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs’

(Brundtland, 1987). Within this definition it addresses two vital concepts to sustainability,

the concept of needs along with the concept of limitations. The concept of needs addresses

the needs of the future. Priority of needs is implied to the entire global community’s poor

population. The concept of limitations suggests that through the state of technology and

social organization there is a limitation on what the environment is able to provide. The

definition provided through the Brundtland Report has shaped much research and

progress within the built environment in the past decade. Sustainable or ‘green’ buildings

should be the main focus of the present in addition to the future. The EPA stated the natural

environment, human health, and economy are each influenced by the built environment

(Sayigh, 2014). Moving forward, building sustainably will be the key factor in mitigating the

effects humanity has on the environment.


5

The indicators of a sustainable space have been defined simply as: communicate

information simply, operationalize sustainable development, facilitate continuous learning,

demonstrate accountability, and identify knowledge as well as data gaps (Lynch and

Mosbah, 2016). Through these indicators sustainable building developers have a guide on

the process to create sustainable spaces. Sustainable spaces have become valuable to

developers, as studies have demonstrated the benefits of working in an environment that is

thermally comfortable, utilizes natural daylighting, or brings outdoor elements indoors. A

study done in Tokyo, Japan found through mandatory electricity savings resulted in a loss

of human thermal comfort, leading to a loss of 6.6% productivity (Rupp, et al., 2015).

Buildings designed with the sustainable attributes in mind throughout the entire designing

process not only provide reduced energy costs, they also raise productivity. Sustainable

spaces whether they are commercial, industrial, or residential have profound effects on

building users and tenants as well as building operators as well as owners. Environmental

benefits, the economic bonuses, as well as the overall social wellbeing are maximized as

sustainable buildings are thoughtfully and carefully designed then implemented into the

built environment, making sustainable design the smart investment.

Energy Use in Buildings

Within the United States, 40% of electricity consumption is accounted for by

buildings, likewise 18% of electricity consumption is within the United States is from

commercial buildings (Pérez-‐Lombard, et al., 2008). As an increased amount of energy is

being used, an even greater amount of carbon emissions are being released. Residential,

commercial, and government buildings are responsible for 20% of Australia’s GHG

emissions, whereas within the United States their total rates of consumption equate almost


6

40% of carbon emissions (Sayigh, 2014). Developed countries are stealing the quality of life

from the developing countries as they use an increasing amount of natural resources that

produce an increasing amount of waste. The cycle of wasteful design of nonrenewable

resources can be terminated then resolved through sustainable design. The cycle of

wasteful design includes the entire building life-‐cycle, the life-‐cycle of a building includes

the exploitation of materials through the entire construction and life of a building,

including the buildings waste of materials during construction (United States Green

Building Council). 50% material resources taken from the natural environment are

building related, additionally over 50% of the national waste production comes from the

building sector (Sayigh, 2014). Designing under the paradigm of energy efficiency is a good

way to use less energy, lower demand on energy resources, in addition lessens greenhouse

gas emissions. Reducing the amount of energy used in the built environment is widely

believed to be the quickest, simplest, furthermore most cost-‐effective way to reduce global

greenhouse gas emissions.

Buildings Impacts on Wellbeing

It is common knowledge that buildings affect people’s wellbeing due to the

extensive amount of time spent within the built environment. Globally, the average time

spent indoors is 90% or more (Sayigh, 2014). The quality of indoor spaces has become

crucial to health, both short-‐term and long-‐term. Common physical features often seen

indoors that induce stress are: a lack of natural lighting, non-‐opening windows, close

uncomfortable seating, bland, monochrome color schemes in addition to harsh linear

features (Hemingway, et al., 2011). Many of these features are implemented to save costs,

however, they are hurting building’s habitants at considerable rates. The pollutants within


7

indoor spaces range from 2 times to 100 times higher than outdoor pollutant levels

(Sayigh, 2014). The spaces that people are spending nearly all of their time are filled with

toxins and pollutants, which are leading to long-‐term health and wellness effects.

This large impact on overall personal wellbeing must be accounted for when

designing any project. Livability is defined as the sum of the factors that adds up to a

community's quality of life—including the built along with natural environments, economic

prosperity, social stability and equity, educational opportunity, cultural, entertainment as

well as recreation possibilities (Lynch and Mosbah, 2016). Livability is the key component

in design for sustainable buildings providing a healthy environment for people to live in. If

the project designs has great attention towards the environment, in addition to the

economy, yet are not beneficial to the consumers, then it is a failed project in terms of

sustainability. It is paramount that the design of buildings becomes focused on choosing

materials that not only have low environmental impacts, yet also address the crisis of the

built environments impact on wellbeing. Simple improvements can be made within the

workspace to make the space more livable, giving people working windows with slightly

views or displaying artwork with organic spaces have been proven to ‘benefit health,

reduce illness, and increase positive mood’ (Hemingway and Steven, 2011). With the rate in

which people are affected by the built environment, designing spaces that are healthier for

people to work as well as live in is a crucial social issue.


8

Sustainable Building Certifications

LEED

The United States Green Building Council (USGBC) is a nonprofit organization that

created a sustainable scoring system, called LEED. LEED is the most widely used green

building certification system with 1.85 million square feet of construction space certified

(United States Green Building Council). LEED is the triple bottom line in action, benefiting

people, planet and profit. The USGBC was established to create a system to analyze how

sustainable buildings are through a scale of various levels of achievements, in order these

are: LEED Certified, LEED Silver, LEED Gold, LEED Platinum. There are varying programs in

which buildings can apply to be LEED certified, these are: LEED-‐NC (new construction),

LEED-‐EB (existing buildings), LEED-‐CS (core and shell, new construction where tenant

improvements are done separately) also LEED-‐H (homes) (United States Green Building

Council). The credits are distributed between categories of integrative process, location

and transportation, sustainable sites, water efficiency, energy and atmosphere, materials

and resources, indoor environmental quality, innovation, regional priority, for a total of

110 credits possible to be scored (United States Green Building Council). Having a LEED

stamp on a project increases the value of properties as well as offers an educational

experience to those ignorant of what sustainable development is then the benefit it brings.

While LEED is the most popular sustainable certification system, many have found

multiple fundamental issues with the LEED rating system. First being that LEED only

recognizes positive sustainable attributes of a project, in addition there are no penalties for

inappropriate implementation or lack of implementation of sustainable features (Denzer

and Hedges, 2011). For example, a project could score highly in the Sustainable Sites


9

category, however, score meets in the prerequisites in Material and Resources category

and still be LEED certified. This means the project could have zero recycled content while

having materials imported from abroad. Another feature LEED fails to take into account is

geographic location’s impact on the feasibility of certain credits, for example, in a

mountainous region the likelihood of bikes being utilized is very low, nevertheless the site

could still earn credits for implementing bike-‐specific features like the Bicycle Facilities

credit for 1 point that would likely be wasted space (United States Green Building Council).

A project of two single-‐family homes located at the backdrop of Yellowstone National Park

completed in 2003, that received it’s accolades as the first LEED certified project in the

National Park system, ran into many unforeseen roadblocks when applying for it’s LEED

certification. Their staff found self-‐reporting extremely difficult as they were not

experienced or trained in the LEED accreditation process. Additionally, they ran into third

party documentation problems for energy modeling, brownfield inspections, as well as

construction recycling that they were not prepared for or made aware of before pursuing a

LEED project which led to additional expenses at nearly $20,000 for the project (Denzer

and Hedges, 2011). This is not a conclusive list of complications that are found in the LEED

rating system, though overall the goal LEED is hoping to achieve is an increase in the

number of built environment project receiving recognition for their work in sustainable

design while working to improve their environmental performance.

Living Building Challenge

Living Building Challenge asks people to imagine “a building designed and

constructed to function as elegantly and efficiently as a flower: a building informed by its

bioregion’s characteristics, that generates all of its own energy with renewable resources,


10

captures and treats all of its water, and that operates efficiently and for maximum beauty”

(Living Building Challenge 3.1, 2016). Living Building Challenge is the most rigorous of the

green certification systems as it is run through the International Living Institute while

focusing on how designers can achieve buildings that are truly good. Their overall goal is to

“make the world work for 100% of humanity in the shortest possible time through

spontaneous cooperation without ecological offense or the disadvantage of anyone” (Living

Building Challenge 3.1, 2016). The Living Building Challenge offers an intensive framework

for design, construction, as well as the symbiotic relationship between people with all

aspects of the community. The Petal Certification of the Living Building Challenge is the

ultimate goal and meets the imperatives within at least three of the seven petals, one of

which must be the water petal, the energy petal, or the materials petal. The remaining

petals are the place petal, the health + happiness petal, the equity petal, then the beauty

petal (Living Building Challenge 3.1, 2016). Imperatives are similar to what LEED

certification deems to be credits. The twenty imperatives each fall under a petal category,

some of the imperatives include: urban agriculture, net positive water, net positive energy,

biophilic environment, embodied carbon footprint, universal access to nature and place,

equitable investment, just organization, inspiration and education (Living Building

Challenge 3.1, 2016). The Living Building Challenge focuses greatly on holistic design while

not interfering on the natural environment as the built environment continues to grow.

Net-‐Zero Energy Certification

Net Zero Energy Building Certification is within the same organization as the

Living Building Challenge except focusing specifically on all energy components. The

International Living Institute defines net zero, as “one hundred percent of the building’s


11

energy needs on a net annual basis must be supplied by on-‐site renewable energy No

combustion is allowed” (Living Building Challenge 3.1, 2016). Net Zero Energy Building

Certification is the only of the three green building certifications that is based entirely on

results and not predicted outcome. Projects cannot be Net Zero Energy Building Certified

until they have reported at least twelve consecutive months of operation at net zero or net

positive energy (Net Zero Energy Building Certification). Net Zero Energy Building

Certification uses frameworks of the Living Building Challenge to focus on divesting from

fossil fuels thus producing some of the greenest buildings in the world.

Impacts on Businesses The Environmental Protection Agency in Denver, CO recently constructed an

innovative collaboratively designed space in their Region 8 headquarters for Montana,

North Dakota, South Dakota, Wyoming, Utah, and Colorado. The holistically designed space

featured innovative light distribution techniques in their atrium sails that redirected light

through the space to create even light distribution reducing the need for ceiling lights, this

same building also installed a green roof to reduce stormwater runoff, as well as exterior

shading structures to provide appropriate shading reducing the load for HVAC cooling

(Zimmer, et al., 2007). In 2015, 90% of their employees stated both that they are constantly

looking for ways to do their job better as well as feeling that the work they do is important,

in addition they felt that the quality of work done by each unit should be rated at an 82%

overall (Kellen, 2015). The EPA Region 8 Headquarters also surveyed it’s employees after

moving into it’s holistically designed headquarters and 79% of the staff stated that they are

willing to sacrifice a higher salary to work in such an innovative building. Further,

providing evidence that employees need a healthy environment to work within; thus, the


12

environments and certification outlined by LEED, Living Building Challenge, as well as Net

Zero Energy provide the healthy, more comfortable environments employees want and

need.

Another study found, after surveying 1,500 employees in 18 different office

buildings, that building features such as temperature, lighting, in addition to sound has a

direct impact on the comfort of the building users (Feige, et al., 2013). However, while the

positive impact cannot clearly correlate to productivity, the higher comfort levels do

directly impact work engagement (Feige, et al., 2013). Buildings designed with the

wellbeing of the users in mind can positively impact a company through an increased

amount of work engagement throughout the staff as a whole, increased work engagement

can lead to increased productivity and employee satisfaction. Buildings catering to the

wellbeing of its inhabitants also provide a great array of health benefits that produce a

higher quality employee as they are more focused while having more energy. From a

business prospective, LEED and Energy Star certified buildings have a rental premium of 4-‐

5% with an asset or sale premia of 25-‐26% (Fuerst and McAllister, 2011). From this,

businesses can conclude that eco-‐certification has become in addition will continue to be

progressively more important, thus having a sustainably certified building will lead to

higher rent as well as asset premium (Fuerst and McAllister, 2011). This premium gives

businesses more value in their assets providing further financial security. Additionally, a

study done by the United States Green Building Council found in the San Diego market that

the overall vacancy rate for green buildings was 11.7% compared to the 15.7% of non-‐

green properties (United States Green Building Council, 2016). In addition, LEED-‐certified

buildings obtain the highest rents, leading to conclude that green properties are more


13

desirable by consumers (United States Green Building Council, 2016). Finally, a study on

PNC bank branches found that the LEED-‐certified facilities opened 458 more consumer

deposit accounts annually (United States Green Building Council, 2016). The benefits

enterprises find in being headquartered in a ‘green facility’ are expansive and growing.

Businesses find benefits through publicity, the growing popularity in accreditations, as well

as increased employee satisfaction.

METHODOLOGY

The long-‐term goal of this research is to investigate how companies are impacted by

their building’s high sustainability certifications, additionally within the ratings which

components implemented have impacted business the most. To answer this question, two

sites that have multiple sustainability certifications for their buildings have been selected

and an individual from each project was questioned. The first company is DPR

Construction-‐ Phoenix, DPR Construction Phoenix was the first building in Arizona to

receive a Net-‐Zero Energy certification; DPR Construction is also LEED Platinum. The

second is a building, the Mosaic Centre, located in Edmonton, Alberta owned by the Mosaic

Family of Companies. The Mosaic Centre houses various companies, is certified both Net-‐

Zero Energy and LEED Platinum, then applied to be Living Building Challenge certified. The

businesses are diverse, providing opportunity to analyze difference in the two dissimilar

sites.


14

CASE STUDY: MOSAIC CENTRE

The Mosaic Centre for Conscious Community and Commerce in located in

Edmonton, Canada, known for being Net-‐Zero certified, LEED platinum certified, then

applying to be Living Building Challenge certified. The 30,000 square foot commercial

center cost $10.5 million, five percent under budget, and was completed three months

ahead of schedule, opening in February of 2015 (Dodge & Kinney, 2015). The building

covers all the major sustainability categories of social, economic, as well as environmental

implementations for an overall complete and holistic design. The Mosaic Centre is a unique

sustainability project because it incorporates all aspects of sustainability. “A community

with a shared vision that you can do GOOD while doing WELL, a community of businesses

enabling positive social change through business” (Burdeniuk, 2015). For the developers,

the social challenges of sustainability were just as valuable as the environmental or the

economic challenges. The Mosaic Centre brought in a community kitchen, wellness center,

childcare facility, lounge areas, game rooms, a restaurant and an outdoor terrace (McKay,

2016). A unique tradition of the Mosaic Centre is the communal kitchen (Figure 3), every

day at 11:55am a bell rings to alert all businesses headquartered in the building to have

lunch together-‐ strengthening the community while developing a culture of transparency in

Figure 1: Mosaic Center Exterior Figure 2: Mosaic Centre Interior


15

addition to openness. The name of the building, ‘The Mosaic Centre for Conscious

Community and Commerce’, describes how implementing social sustainability throughout

the entire design was an indispensable part of the process. The Mosaic Centre for

Conscious Community and Commerce was built with user-‐centered design with beauty in

mind by using natural elements. Within the foyer is a three story living wall used to

produce bananas within their building (Figure 4). The banana tree also provides something

more to the space; it regulates humidity, produces fresh air, moreover in the harsh winters

in Edmonton the living wall provides green space to lift moral in addition can even improve

the ability for one to concentrate on a task thus reduce errors and fatigue (Hemingway and

Steven, 2011). Bringing natural elements indoors such as a living wall provides the

building with better air quality, increasing the condition of the building as well as

increasing tenant’s human thermal comfort as well as respiratory wellness. Another

unique feature in the foyer is the staircase, the Mosaic Centre built their staircase to best

suit the different businesses; the staircase gives opportunities for the employees to leave

their traditional office to sit in natural lighting on the staircase (Figure 5). The furniture

within the space was created to be environmentally conscious too-‐ all furniture was

Figure 3: Mosaic Community Kitchen Figure 4: Mosaic Centre Living Wall


16

produced locally and with offsets from the construction process of the building (Burdeniuk,

2015). Nontraditional furniture inspires employees plus sparks interest within the office

while allowing employees take pride in their office space (Hemingway and Steven, 2011).

Another feature the Mosaic Centre took in mind is creating a unique experience through

their wayfinding system within the building Figure 6). Local artisans were hired then asked

to paint murals to make the wayfinding inside of the building more interesting than dull

signs traditional buildings use. A study published in the interdisciplinary journal Spatial

Cognition and Computation found that color helps people of all ages find their destination

more quickly when navigating through an unfamiliar large environment (Jansen-‐Osmann

and Wiedenbauer, 2004). The particular attention the Mosaic Centre paid attention to

detail as well as the user experience combine together to make a healthier, more engaging

environment to host businesses.

As much as Net Zero Energy Certification is a benefit for the environment, it’s a huge

economic factor for sustainability. The Mosaic Centre for Conscious Community and

Commerce is Alberta’s first net-‐zero commercial building aimed at being a model of

sustainable construction together with an incubator for startup businesses within the

community (Mosaic Centre for Conscious Community and Commerce). The building holds

Figure 5: Mosaic Centre Staircase Figure 6: Mosaic Centre Wayfinding


17

213 kWatts worth of PV solar paneling on both the vertical and horizontal portions of the

building to produce as much energy as they consume annually, making the commercial hub

net-‐zero (Burdeniuk, 2015). Additionally, the Mosaic Centre capitalized on the

geoexchange through 32 bore holes, 230 feet below the parking lot, which allowed for a

reduction on the PV load by 40 kWatts, saving the $80,000 in energy after factoring in the

geothermal system (Burdeniuk, 2017). To encourage startups and new business within the

community, the Mosaic Centre has a co-‐working space for socially conscious

entrepreneurial startups they’ve named interChange (Burdeniuk, 2017). Encouraging

startups in the community builds local business building the economy of their city, as well

as having a space that startups can host their business functions in early stages assists

these companies in nearly completely eliminating facility operation costs, a great financial

incentive and benefit the Mosaic Centre offers to the community.

An interesting component of the Mosaic Centre is the false advertisement that has

largely impacted the business through their marketing. The Mosaic Centre has been often

nicknamed Triple Play due to its goals to achieve LEED Platinum, Net Zero Energy, as well

as Living Building Challenge. However, the Mosaic Centre found that they could not

accomplish Living Building Challenge certification (Burdeniuk, 2017). During the interview

with Brandy Burdeniuk, one of the leading sustainable consultants throughout the Mosaic

Centre project and co-‐founder of ‘EcoAmmo’ headquartered in the Mosaic Centre, was

disappointed to relay that the Living Building Challenge qualification fell through after

minor details with the restaurant inside the Mosaic Centre. The first year of occupancy the

Mosaic Centre was eligible for the Living Building Challenge certification; however, the

property owners of the Mosaic Centre found that restaurants were not interested in the


18

space because there were no natural gas lines available, which Living Building Challenge

does not permit natural gas lines in their certified spaces. The Mosaic Centre needed to

have their commercial restaurant space filled in order to keep the building owners from

going bankrupt. They had to compromise by giving up their Living Building Challenge

certification in order to keep the space functioning with the property owners within profit

margins. Living Building Challenge certifications are extremely difficult for building owners

to earn while being in Alberta with an extreme climate, it makes it even more difficult to

earn Living Building Challenge certifications as Alberta’s fuel of choice is natural gas for

heating and electrical generation (Alberta Energy, n.d.).

The Mosaic Centre was able to fill their other commercial spaces with a yoga studio

as well as a day care. Implementing a fitness center and a day care from outside sources

encourages start-‐up businesses while providing the other building tenants to have their

needs more accessibly met. The yoga studio is rented out regularly after working hours to

host community event such as a salsa-‐dancing club (Figure 7) that allows for the building’s

useful life to extended as well as allowing the community to come together for

entertainment. Childcare is a huge concern to working families. Consequently, having the

opportunity to have a childcare facility within their working environment alleviates a lot of

Figure 7: Fitness Center Facility


19

pressure from staff thus makes working at the Mosaic Centre more convenient. Brandy also

shared that the childcare facility was at maximum capacity year-‐round because of it’s

competitive edge being housed in a building designed to eliminate toxins, retain great air

quality, as well as having high standards for the materials used in the businesses. The

Mosaic Centre companies that are within maintain collaborative spaces, with the fitness

center hosting a salsa dancing event monthly that fills with dozens of local community

members. Their other collaborative spaces throughout the building have achieved this as

well. The rooftop terrace is used in the comfortable months for various reasons including

rooftop yoga and client appreciation meetings. The Mosaic Centre for Conscious

Community and Commerce is an intentionally designed community with a vast amount of

sustainable elements across economic, environmental, in addition to social factors. While

the Centre has received high recognition, they hope to inspire new buildings or businesses

to take their top spot (Burdeniuk, 2015). The Mosaic Centre is working to create a cultural

change within the built environment therefore it’s important to analyze how their attempts

have been both successful and unsuccessful to what rate they find their sustainable

implementations working from expectations.


20

CASE STUDY: DPR CONSTRUCTION-‐ PHOENIX

DPR Construction is a technical building company specializing in complex,

sustainable projects spread all across the nation. DPR Construction’s expertise is in smart

construction in which they focus on collaborative virtual building, sustainable construction,

preconstruction, special services group, self-‐preform work, as well as safety. DPR

Construction’s office in Phoenix, AZ, known as a ‘living laboratory’, was Arizona’s first Net-‐

Zero Energy Building. In 2013, DPR Construction Phoenix was the largest building in the

world, in addition to the second in the United States, to receive the Net-‐Zero Energy

Building certification (DPR Construction, 2013). DPR Construction’s Phoenix office includes

a wide variety of rooms for the employees benefit to encourage a comfortable, productive

environment. Their office was designed to hold an employee nap room, allowing employees

to maintain peak wellness and awareness throughout the day, as well as a gym, again

Figure 8: DPR Construction-‐Phoenix

Figure 9: DPR Kitchen and Outdoor Seating Area Figure 10: DPR Construction Conference Room


21

helping their staff move towards wellness as they encourage active lifestyles at work to

keep energy plus moral levels high. Another additional feature they inputted in their office

is a large common kitchen area (Figure 9). This space allows their staff to come together to

have meals as well as providing a collaborative space where lunch meetings can happen

comfortably within the office setting. From the kitchen, there are additional collaborative

spaces that extend outdoors for meeting space or for employees to enjoy the outdoor

environment as they work, again encouraging wellness over a sedentary work

environment. Even the conference rooms within DPR Construction Phoenix are not

traditional (Figure 10); they have informal conference spaces for less traditional meetings

with unique seating options along with more of a dynamic seating pattern to encourage

creativity within meetings. They designed their space to benefit their employees by

focusing on the best work environment experience.

DPR Construction’s original intent of the project was to accomplish Net Zero Energy.

Their major goals were to use the environment to their advantage, for the space to be less

‘officey’, maximize natural light, implement passive energy and cooling strategies, while

within a building that was nearing the end of it’s intended lifecycle to redevelop. They did

not rely on PV systems when designing the space, yet focused first on passive systems that

could be implemented. One of the Phoenix office’s biggest passive energy-‐saver is the solar

Figure 11: DPR Evaporative Cooler


22

chimney; the solar chimney creates convection as well as buoyancy in the space so that

they do not have to use energy to cool the office area. The solar chimney is assisted in

passive cooling with the evaporative cooling system (Figure 11). Their evaporative cooler

takes the Phoenix hot, dry air then pushes it through a water sheet by motorized dampers,

as the air is cooled it is then moved through the space by the solar chimney’s effect. The

fans within the office space are controlled by a computer system keeping the space within a

range of data sets for the office to be thermally comfortable. After completing their

renovation on just the building envelope, they added the PV arrays needed to complete the

Net-‐Zero Building certification, also achieving a LEED Platinum certification.

As DPR Construction highlights their sustainability knowledge in construction and

design in their office space, when asked the Phoenix office’s accolades have not led to new

projects since its construction in 2013. Their high notoriety has provided tours, awards,

great marketing for their business, in addition it has allowed them to engage with those

interested in similar ideas and design principles. DPR Construction-‐ Phoenix also

acknowledged that Net-‐Zero Building certification is not a blanket construction idea they

can fit to each new project. Within DPR Construction Phoenix there are nevertheless

employees who are not thermally comfortable with the change and some people struggle to

adapt to the new technological building. Indoor human thermal comfort is difficult to

quantify for each person effected by the space, however, most of the employees have said

that DPR Construction in Phoenix’s office is friendly feeling as well as an above average

office space.


23

DISCUSSION

Creating a holistic approach to sustainability is an admiral goal that DPR

Construction-‐ Phoenix and Mosaic Centre has both achieved as well as has set each space

apart. As people experience in holistically designed spaces, they are inspired. It can be

concluded that companies that design their building focused on user-‐centered design have

workforces that feel more appreciated and more encouraged to do their work. The Mosaic

Centre and DPR Construction have achieved this user-‐centered design at a high level

through using the guidelines set in place by sustainable certifications by putting their

employee’s interests in mind through the designs. Further, their employee’s agree, DPR

Construction’s employees stated that the facility felt friendly as well as they felt their office

was an above average building to work in. The Mosaic Centre’s sustainability consultants,

EcoAmmo, chose to move their headquarters into the Mosaic Centre. Brandy stated in her

interview it is extremely rare to find staff involved in a project interested in the building at

all after construction is completed because of building complications (Burdeniuk, 2017).

However, the Mosaic Centre’s entire design process was so focused on social success

through sustainability that the building was still attractive enough to EcoAmmo to move

into.

One component both businesses implemented into their designs is collaborative

space. The Mosaic Centre houses an innovative staircase as it’s not only functional as

employees can use the space to work and collaborate outside of their offices, a shared

dining area for all businesses to come together, as well as intentionally designed

conference rooms that are designed for community engagement and thermal comfort. DPR

Construction also holds intentionally designed conference rooms, including those of


24

various sizes, as well as single occupant rooms that allow for users to have undisturbed

conference calls. DPR Construction also has a community designed kitchen area that

extends to the outdoors, allowing staff to change their surroundings throughout the day to

meet their personal comfort needs. Non-‐traditional collaborative spaces prove to be

important because as designers bring people together in a space that is inspiring while

allowing others to collaborate across disciplines, the building occupants will be more

productive and motivated. Having a staff of motivated, inspired individuals leads to

financial benefits as well. While impossible to quantify the exact economic impact of a more

productive staff, it can be recognized that with an inspired, engaged staff there will be less

disgruntled employees, leading to a lower employee turnover rate. As well as, if the space is

designed to be collaborative as well as inspiring, then it will be easier to acquire new staff

with an attractive company image and office environment (Feige, 2013). Collaborative

spaces also attract visitors; both DPR Construction as well as the Mosaic Centre openly

tours their facilities to showcase the collaborative design elements in addition to

sustainable features that make their space unique. The Mosaic Centre found in their last

calculation that nearly 12,000 people have visited to tour the building to see the unique

design throughout the space. Organizations such as EcoAmmo, a sustainable consulting

firm, that are headquarted in spaces similar to the Mosaic Centre, have the opportunity in

marketing by touring their space to show potential clients their work physically.


25

CONCLUSION

Building upon a holistic approach to sustainability as a goal as a business’ building

will set the establishment apart. Designing an office in which the building has been created

to be comfortable through the use of natural systems will increase work engagement

within the staff. While there is no clear way to measure work productivity based on the

comfort felt by employees, keeping organization's engaged will keep work from being

stagnant. Designing sustainable spaces that utilize natural systems will positively benefit

the comfort within a space. Additionally, this research is beneficial to architects designing

commercial office spaces for businesses with user-‐centered design to enhance work

performance as well as the experience. This study also serves as an assessment for

sustainability certifications where issues in certifications like Living Building Challenge

prevents business opportunities due to the strict standards that do not take geographical

factors into consideration. While DPR Construction found no direct correlation in increased

number of projects through their sustainable certifications, they have received a new

platform in marketing through the building’s success in the media, tours, as well as a

building that caters better to the wellbeing of their employees. The Mosaic Centre found

direct business impacts through the sustainable certification of the space as they have had

over 12,000 people tour the building since it’s opening in 2015. Then additional impacts

were found through the building’s specific features such as the living wall, various

commercial offices for the daycare, co-‐working for startup businesses, as well as a fitness

center that have financial benefits from the building’s wellness and the design features

aimed at social success through sustainability.


26

This research provides a platform for future studies by supplementing the

qualitative research with quantitative research through adding a cost benefit analysis of

the specific sustainability factors. Creating specific questionnaires that investigate the

actual performance, satisfaction, yet also experience of the employees. In further studies it

would be desirable to obtain financial records, survey a wider population of the staff, or to

compare buildings that are more similar in size and climate. It can be then concluded that

office buildings have a direct, positive influence on the business as a whole if the comfort

level within a building influences staff engagement.


27

References Alberta Energy. "Natural Gas." (n.d.): n. pag. Alberta Energy. Web.Brundtland, G. H. (1987).

Our common future. Earth and Us, 29-‐31. Retrieved April 20, 2016.

Bullitt Center. (n.d.). Bullitt Center Building. Retrieved from

http://www.bullittcenter.org/building/

Burdeniuk, B. (2017, March 10). Co-‐Founder EcoAmmo Sustainable Consulting. (Sanders,

M., Interviewer).

Burdeniuk, B. [City of St. Edmonton]. (2015). Brandy Burdeniuk: The Mosaic Centre. [Video

File]. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/fpVE7vKJXv4.

Denzer, A. S. and Hedges, K. E. (2011). The limitations of leed: A case study. Journal of

Green Building, 6(1), 25-‐33. doi:10.3992/jgb.6.1.25

Dodge, D. Kinney, D. (2015, March 23). Welcome to the Mosaic Centre: Canada’s Biggest Net-‐

Zero Building. Retrieved from http://www.greenenergyfutures.ca/episode/first-‐

net-‐zero-‐office-‐building

DPR Construction. (2013, May 17). DPR Construction’s Phoenix Office First Net-‐Zero

Energy Commercial Building in Arizona. Retrieved from

http://www.dpr.com/media/press-‐releases/dpr-‐constructions-‐phoenix-‐office-‐first-‐

net-‐zero-‐energy-‐commercial-‐building

DPR Construction. (n.d.). DPR Construction Net-‐Zero Energy San Francisco Regional Office.

Retrieved from http://www.dpr.com/projects/dpr-‐construction-‐san-‐francisco-‐

regional-‐office

DPR Construction. (n.d.). DPR Construction. Retrieved from http://www.dpr.com/.

Feige, A., Wallbaum, H., Janser, M., & Windlinger, L. (2013). Impact of sustainable office

buildings on occupant's comfort and productivity. Journal of Corporate Real Estate,

15(1), 7-‐34.

Fuerst, F. and McAllister, P. (2011), Green Noise or Green Value? Measuring the Effects of

Environmental Certification on Office Values. Real Estate Economics, 39: 45–69.

doi:10.1111/j.1540-‐6229.2010.00286.x


28

Hemingway, A., & Steven, P. (2011). Innovating to achieve sustainable wellbeing inside the

built environment. Perspectives in Public Health, 131(3), 117-‐118.

doi:10.1177/1757913911405720

International Institute of Sustainable Development. (n.d.). Sustainable Development.

Retrieved from http://www.iisd.org/topic/sustainable-‐development

International Living Future Institute. (2016) Living Building Challenge 3.1 [PDF file].

Retrieved from https://living-‐future.org/wp-‐content/uploads/2016/11/Living-‐

Building-‐Challenge-‐3.1-‐Standard.pdf

International Living Future Institute. (n.d.). Net Zero Energy Building Certification.

Retrieved from https://living-‐future.org/net-‐zero/certification/#why-‐certify

Jansen-‐Osmann, P., & Wiedenbauer, G. (2004). Wayfinding performance in and the spatial

knowledge of a color-‐coded building for adults and children. Spatial cognition and

computation, 4(4), 337-‐358.Kellen, K. (2015, July 29). Employee Misconduct and

Whistleblower Issues at the Environmental Protection Agency (United States,

American Federation of Government Employees, The AFGE National Council #238).

Lynch, A. J., & Mosbah, S. M. (2016). Improving Local Measures of Sustainability: A Study of

Built-‐Environment Indicators in the United States. Cities, 60, 301-‐313.

doi:10.1016/j.cities.2016.09.011

McKay, K. (2016, September 29). The Mosaic Centre. Retrieved from

http://www.sabmagazine.com/blog/2016/09/29/the-‐mosaic-‐centre/

Mosaic Centre for Conscious Community and Commerce. (n.d.). How We Did It. Retrieved

from http://themosaiccentre.ca/

Pérez-‐Lombard, L., Ortiz, J., & Pout, C. (2008). A review on buildings energy consumption

information. Energy & Buildings, 40(3), 394-‐398.

doi:10.1016/j.enbuild.2007.03.007

National Renewable Energy Laboratory. (n.d.). Sustainable and Net Zero Buildings on the

NREL Campus. Retrieved from http://www.nrel.gov/about/sustainable-‐

buildings.html

Rupp, R. F., Vásquez, N. G., & Lamberts, R. (2015). A Review of Human Thermal Comfort in

the Built Environment. Energy & Buildings, 105, 178-‐205.

doi:10.1016/j.enbuild.2015.07.047


29

Sayigh, A. A. M. (2014). Sustainability, Energy and Architecture: Case Studies in Realizing

Green Buildings (First ed.). Oxford, UK: Academic Press.

United States Green Building Council. (n.d.). This is LEED. Retrieved from

http://leed.usgbc.org/leed.html

Zimmer, Gunsul, Frasca Architecture LLP. (2007, January) Environmental Protection

Agency, Region 8 Headquarters, Denver, Colorado EPA Pressbook. [PDF file].

Retrieved from

https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/documents/epapressbook.pdf


30

100% Engagement Regarding my career plans the capstone class has allowed me to develop specific interests

within my career path that I believe will really alter the course of my future plans. Within

the course of my senior capstone I have been able to do extensive research throughout a

variety of topics within sustainability in the built environment. I knew that I had interest

within sustainable buildings, but after studying further I found that I was particularly

interested in sustainability certifications and how they impacted business. This allowed me

to see the interest I had in business, which inspired me to take on a business minor as I saw

the great impact sustainability could have in business. The capstone provided a platform to

research extensively on sustainability in the built environment and the certifications that

go alongside business decisions.

To synthesize my knowledge and skills to a potential employer or a graduate school

program, I would describe my experience through the capstone as an opportunity to gain

time management, and the ability to conduct extensive research and the ability to apply

that research to a greater topic and synthesize it into academic writing. Additionally,

through my capstone I interviewed multiple business professionals, this opportunity was a

great professional development skill I had the opportunity to possess. My experience with

the capstone has been a great academic and professional growing opportunity that altered

the course of my future career plans in a positive way.

Sustainability Certifications and Impacts on Business ·...

Documents

Transcript of Sustainability Certifications and Impacts on Business ·...