Facilities managers play an integral role in the upkeep of a building, overseeing a broad range of aspects such as health and safety, environmental quality and sustainability.
While their work often goes unseen, facilities managers significantly contribute to the productivity and wellbeing of building occupants, and ultimately the profitability of the building.
Planteria are botanical experts specialising in plants for commercial buildings in the UK such as offices, showrooms and public spaces. We often collaborate with facilities managers to ensure they can meet all of their objectives.
Discover how the use of greenery can enhance your work as a facilities manager, especially in terms of boosting ROI.
Adding Greenery To Your Commercial Building – An Overview For Facilities Management
It is no understatement that facilities managers are the backbone of the built environment. At Planteria, we also recognise World FM Day to show our appreciation for all of the work FMs do to keep the lights on, the air fresh and the grounds beautifully manicured.
As a facilities manager, we understand your top priorities commonly include:
- Budgeting and cost management
- Building leasing
- Building maintenance
- Energy efficiency
- Grounds maintenance
- Health and safety
- Lighting
- Quality of building environment
- Renovations and building upgrades
- Space management
The use of greenery can contribute to all of the above aspects to further enhance your work. It’s our job as biophilia experts to help curate the plant selections and overall placement to ensure all of your objectives are met.
How Plants Can Boost The ROI On Commercial Buildings
When looking to meet endless objectives as a facilities manager, plants could just be your secret weapon!
More than just giving a building more aesthetic appeal, plants have the incredible capability to boost productivity, improve energy efficiency and can even generate higher rental valuations.
Based on the key aims of your FM team, the most suitable plant types and installation ideas can be selected in response.
These are some of the areas we can help with, including where generating a tangible ROI is a priority.
Reduced Energy Costs
At Planteria, we help our clients achieve various green building standards and certifications such as BREEAM. Studies have shown that BREEAM certified building can result in a 25% saving on energy costs, and this is only one example of the many certifications your building can achieve in the UK!
Our biophilia experts are extremely well-versed in how plants can be used to improve the energy efficiency of a building. However, improving the energy efficiency of a building using plants is not always common knowledge outside of our industry, which is why partnering with us as a facilities manager can be invaluable.
During warmer weather, plants can be used to add natural shade to key areas of your building, while also helping to insulate to keep excess heat out and ultimately reduce cooling costs. In the winter, plants can do the opposite to insulate against heat loss.
Looking ahead, the next big trend we will be seeing a lot more of in the coming years is green roofs. The New York Times reports how green roofs can reduce air conditioning costs by as much as 75%.
Increased Employee Productivity
It makes sense that building owners and tenants want a commercial space that will get the most out of its people. This is especially prevalent when it comes to making the office a place where people want to actually be in the age of WFH.
Natural elements seek to engage our creativity, but also help us to achieve good wellbeing. In combination, employees feel happier and more productive at work because their environment is best supporting their needs as humans. Beyond greenery, access to natural light and a considered use of materials throughout the building can also be incredibly beneficial in boosting productivity.
Endless studies have shown that greenery can have a direct impact on employee productivity, job satisfaction and even how many sick days employees take per year.
Overall Property Value And Tenant Satisfaction
Facilities managers play an important role in maintaining not just the safety of a building but also the quality of the environment.
Understandably, building owners want to maintain the value of their assets over the long term. In the interim, there is a need to attract tenants and be able to command healthy rental yields. So how can greenery help with both of these aims?
The use of biophilic elements is an intuitive way to design and maintain any building. That’s because it’s easy just to offer a basic office space like many commercial buildings that exist. However, it can be difficult for tenants to see themselves occupying the space when it’s devoid of personality and life.
Instead, greenery shows an investment into not just the building, but also all those who will use the space. Plants can be integral in making a building look inviting and also well maintained.
This impact isn’t just felt in terms of improving wellbeing, but also in the ROI it can generate for building owners. CBRE estimates that tenants in New York pay 14% more for floors with terraces.
Here in the UK, the University of Oxford found that offices with outdoor spaces can command up to 10% higher rent premiums. Adding biophilia to the internal spaces of buildings has also been associated with higher rent premiums.
Get Inspired With A Planteria Case Study
Planteria was delighted to be involved in a redevelopment project for the Experian offices in London.
Our botanical experts cleverly incorporated Experian’s brand colours into the plants chosen to uplift and enhance the space. We also focused on sustainability by using recycled materials, with the planters also produced using 100% green energy.
Representing the very best of contemporary office design, this project demonstrates how biophilia has the potential to meet a number of objectives you may have as a facilities manager.
If you enjoy reading this case study, we hope you’ll browse some of our other examples from projects we’ve worked on throughout the UK!
Also, be sure to follow Planteria on Instagram to see snapshots of our work in action.
Green Buildings UK FAQs
Are you considering adding greenery to your commercial building to boost ROI?
We’ve answered some common queries below. However, if you are based in the UK please contact us here at Planteria for tailored advice on making your project a success.
What Is The ROI Of Biophilic Design?
When calculating the ROI of biophilic design, you need to measure the overall impact any greenery has had.
Some areas to consider tracking include employee productivity, employee satisfaction, employee retention, absenteeism and energy savings.
Naturally, every business will report a different ROI of any biophilic design initiatives. But some food for thought includes a study by Harvard researchers, which found that employers can experience a 6:1 return for every $1 spent on wellness initiatives.
A UK-based study also reported that employers can gain £2.70 from every £1 invested in biophilia.
Given biophilic design seeks to improve the health and wellbeing of employees, there will always be positive benefits to be had. Over the longer term, it is expected that a healthy ROI will be seen in response to biophilic design measures.
How To Produce Cost Savings With Green Spaces
As a facilities manager, we understand that managing costs is always going to be a top priority when wanting to add green spaces into your building.
If you decide to work with us here at Planteria, we can suggest the most strategic approach based on your budget and overall aims for the project. We can also advise on how to update any existing greenery so that it aligns with your budget.
What Are The Financial Benefits Of Plants In Buildings?
The financial benefits of plants relate to the impact they can have on building users in terms of improving mental and physical health.
All too often, corporate spaces do little to improve the wellbeing of building occupants. By taking a biophilic design approach instead, aspects such as productivity, creativity, problem solving and employee engagement can all be enhanced. Furthermore, plants have the ability to lower stress levels, purify the air and reduce levels of sickness in the workplace.
In combination, all of the above can have incredible financial benefits for businesses, because when you invest in your people through intuitive office design you can build stronger and more engaged teams.
Are There Any Good Examples Of Corporate Greenery Cost Savings?
When looking to implement greenery into a corporate environment, there are plenty of ways this can be done within budget. One idea is to opt for low maintenance office plants, which as the name suggests involve choosing varieties that thrive without needing too much attention.
Alternatively, artificial plants can also boast impressive wellbeing benefits, while creating an impressive visual spectacle within your building. Since artificial plants don’t require maintenance like live plants do, they can also be used to deliver cost savings.
Facilities Management Biophilic Design – What Are The Key Things To Know?
As a facilities manager, there are endless ways that incorporating biophilia can enhance your building.
Biophilia can help a building to obtain green building certifications such as BREEAM, which in turn can also enhance any sustainability efforts. Plants in particular can help purify the air to make commercial spaces more productive places to work, with installations such as green roofs also capable of reducing the running costs of the building. Likewise, green walls can also help optimise humidity levels.
Overall, biophilic design can boast some incredible wellbeing benefits, which is why incorporating greenery should be a top consideration when looking to improve any commercial environment.
Planteria – Get A Free Quote For Our Commercial Greenery Services
Do you own a commercial building or work on behalf of a facilities management company?
Planteria’s biophilia experts can offer you a tailored consultation to maximise the outcome of your greenery project, including boosting the ROI of the building. Not only can our plant experts advise on the very best greenery ideas, but we can also implement and maintain any green displays within your building.
We have a wide variety of solutions that we can provide from office plants to green walls, as well as exterior planting services such as roof gardens. Head over to our services page to learn more.
Alternatively, contact us today for a free quote or give us a call on 0345 505 3333 to talk to our experts about what we do.
Fundraising through charity events at our office is one of the ways that we work together to support those in need. Most recently, we supported Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children with a bake sale, raffle and table tennis tournament. Following our fundraising event and after counting all of the donations, we were incredibly honoured to see the grand total of £700 on an offical cheque to GOSH. Matt Anderson, Managing Director of Planteria Group presented the cheque in person at Great Ormond Street Hospital in London. Our donation helps seriously ill children and their familes when they need it most. Donations can help contribute to the building and refurbishment of the hospital, support ground-breaking research and development of new treatments, fund the most up-to-date equipment and also provide support and accommodation to children and families in need. We are proud to support Great Ormond Street Hospital and the excellent and meaningful work they do. Each quarter our employees help select a meaningful charity to support and we work together to plan events and make donations that make a difference. This quarter we will be supporting Meningitis Now, a charity that is close to the hearts of our employees.
And for comparison by industry, it’s nice to see that we are well above the various averages shown below:
(Above data correct at time of publishing July 2017)
