Biophilic design—and its unique combination of architecture and nature—has been one of the hot topics of discussion both in scientific and business circles for quite a long time. While many are aware of its impacts on wellness and aesthetics, comparatively less thought has been given to quantifying the economic benefits of biophilic office spaces. That is where the concept of Biophilic Return on Investment (BROI) comes into focus—a multidimensional metric that transcends conventional ROI by taking a broad, holistic approach that includes monetary gains and aspects such as employee well-being, productivity, and energy efficiency.

This article is not about simply talking or advocating for biophilic design; that territory is well-traveled. Rather, the present focus is on a comprehensive, detailed analysis of BROI in biophilic office spaces. Through real-world examples — case studies from Google and Amazon, among them — we’ll explore how BROI manifests itself in different settings and what lessons these cases offer when maximizing biophilic design’s economic impact.

The Traditional ROI vs. BROI
A Brief Overview of ROI
Return on Investment (ROI) has long been the stalwart metric in the business world, giving a simple direct measure of the profitability of any given investment. The core principle is rather straightforward: You invest in something (be it technology, human capital, or office space) and expect a certain financial return, often calculated as a percentage of the original investment. Whilst effective, ROI’s limited scope usually focuses only on monetary gains against the initial cost and ongoing maintenance, leaving out other significant factors like employee well-being and operational efficiency.

BROI: What You Need to Know
Therefore, BROI, or Biophilic Return on Investment, aims to address those limitations by taking a more expansive view. It’s not just about the direct money earned or saved; it’s about the benefits an organization can reap from adopting biophilic design. For instance, a 5% rise in productivity resulting from a healthier working environment can lead to gains far exceeding the initial outlay required to install biophilic elements.

 

Other factors, such as reduced energy bills or healthcare costs for employees, come into play, too. BROI encourages organizations to think holistically: everything from employee output through to overall brand value.

Comparing BROI to traditional ROI gives companies a more nuanced lens through which they can view the economic benefits arising from design choices. The beauty of BROI is its applicability across scales, ranging from small businesses with minimal workspaces to multinational corporations with sprawling campuses. No matter how big or small, all organizations benefit from a metric that encapsulates a greater range of factors, encouraging them to make decisions that support both economically and environmentally sustainable outcomes.

This contrast between ROI and BROI forms the backbone upon which our deeper dive into how BROI is calculated—and has been incorporated successfully in real-life case studies—lines itself up.

Method for Calculating BROI
Understanding how to measure the economic impacts of biophilic design choices will be key to implementing BROY meaningfully. The methodology involves a combination of quantitative and qualitative metrics capturing nuances of real-world applications of biophilic office spaces employing the same methodological approach.

Quantitative Metrics

Employee Performance Metrics
How do we measure the elements of biophilia in productivity gains? Performance metrics like output per employee, task completion rate, and work quality (as measured by error rates or customer feedback) offer a tangible readout on how the inputs are translated into outputs. For example, within six months of introducing natural lighting in an organization, its output per employee increased by 10%. This change can be directly converted to monetary value based on the average revenue generated per employee to provide quantitative insight into potential productivity gains.
Energy Savings

Apart from quantifying productivity gains, energy savings with respect to natural lighting, ventilation, and temperature control can also be monetized. A reduction in monthly or annual utility bills as percentages reads out how much customers’ money was saved. If a company’s average monthly electricity bill reduces by 20% following the adoption of skylights and natural ventilation for cooling purposes, this will form part of the BROI calculation.

Qualitative Metrics
Although not easily measurable into immediate monetary returns, higher employee satisfaction generally pays off in the long run by reduced turnover and increased customer loyalty. Employee happiness measures include biophilic interventions via surveys or interviews tracked over time to determine changes resulting from such interventions. One example is a Midwest-based tech firm whose reported employee satisfaction increased by 25% after moving to an office designed biophilically, which resulted in decreased annual turnover rates.

The intangibles, both brand value and public image, are harder to quantify but equally vital. Businesses investing in biophilic design often get favorable media coverage and a lift in brand perception. That increase in brand value can lead to getting better talent added and potentially even higher valuation during investment rounds or acquisitions. For example, when a European-based sustainable clothing brand shifted its office design to biophilic, it got wide media coverage that correlated with 15% sales growth in the next quarter.

Combining both quantitative and qualitative metrics into a comprehensive framework, the BROI method gives a nuanced yet robust tool for assessing the economic impact of biophilic office spaces. This dual approach allows for a more holistic understanding of how these elements influence not only the bottom line but also the health and effectiveness of an organization.

Finally, real-world case studies will illustrate this approach in action, beginning with Google’s Mountain View campus, moving on to Amazon’s Spheres in Seattle, and finishing up with Etsy’s Brooklyn headquarters. These studies will help validate and flesh out the BROI model, showing how it plays out in settings that have different challenges and objectives.

Case Study 1 – Google’s Campus at Mountain View
When workplace design is discussed as cutting edge, the name Google often comes up as an industry pioneer. The tech giant has its own near-living example of biophilic design elements harmoniously interlaced into an office environment. With green rooftops, open courtyards, and lots of natural light, Google’s campus makes for a prime subject to dissect the economic implications of BROI.

Google’s Mountain View, California campus is hardly your average workplace. The environment is deeply rooted in nature with its biophilic components – vertical gardens inside the building, natural ventilation systems, and outdoor meeting spaces. These are no mere ornaments; such components are conscious investments towards productivity, creativity, and overall well-being of employees.

With biophilic design at work at Google’s campus, there have been immediate and measurable results in terms of energy savings. The use of natural lighting coupled with advanced HVAC systems that take advantage of natural airflow to about 30% reduction in electricity usage. This translates into per annum multi-million dollar savings.

Innovation is what currency looks like internally in a company, and to argue, the worth of employee productivity cannot be overstated. Since their biophilic designs were implemented, Google has done internal studies that show marked increases in the output of employees and decreases in the rate of stress-related illnesses. Their metrics indicated an increase of approximately 7% in productivity, which, to Google’s size, means immeasurable economic benefit.

BROI Analysis
Start with incorporating these quantitative factors. If it cost hypothetically $10 million to implement those biophilic elements from day one, and savings on energy amounted to $3 million per year, the return becomes evident very quickly. Add to that the fact that productivity within people will inevitably go up because they’re happier—which would equate today at about another $20 million annually based on average revenue output per employee—and you have a compelling case for high BROI.

But the story doesn’t end there, and yet biophilic literature does not. Employee satisfaction surveys tell us Google’s workforce is considerably happier and less stressed – a qualitative metric that, whilst hard to translate into direct economic terms, promises long-term benefits like reduced turnover and increased employee loyalty.

Google’s biophilic initiatives seem to be working by any standard ROI measure – but through the lens of BROI, those returns are even larger. The metrics underscore immediate financial gains and capture intangible benefits of employee well-being – making BROI an even more robust way of understanding how including nature within workspaces impacts our economy.

This real-world example serves as something of a solid foundation upon which we can understand the adaptability and applicability of BROI in assessing how biophilic office spaces impact economies. We now turn our attention to Amazon Spheres in Seattle: another different but equally illuminating case study of BROI at play.

Case Study 2 – Amazon’s Spheres in Seattle
The case study of the headquarters of the city where Amazon is located is another interesting example that portrays how economic efficacy can be driven through biophilic design. Unlike conventional office spaces, Amazon’s Spheres comprise three glass domes with a botanical garden, including walkways and even small waterfalls. This radical endeavor to create an eye-catcher space certainly has been able to catch not only the architecture world but also from a business perspective. What seems more attractive is how these features lead to benefits, measured via Biophilic Return on Investment (BROI).

The Spheres by Amazon might seem like a display of nature; it reflects their providing a work environment for employees with a place to think, craft ideas with colleagues, and innovate while surrounded by plants. These are not confined to plants since they have meeting places, lounges, and eateries, making it quite an extensive working and relaxation area.

The largest gain that Amazon cited was in reduced healthcare. Due to a better working environment and decreased stress, overall health insurance claims by employees saw an amazing decline. In the year after the opening of the Spheres, 15% fewer stress-related medical claims were seen, resulting in considerable savings.

The Spheres have become an architectural icon, making them represent an important branding asset for Amazon. Even though it is hard to quantify these things statistically, this elevated brand image carries benefits such as pulling top talent and serving as a unique selling point when negotiating business. In fact, shortly after its opening, a survey showed that 80% of prospective employees found that concept appealing, thus possibly lowering the cost per hire due to increased interest in working for the company.

BROI Analysis
Such is the BROI of Amazon’s Spheres, far exceeding its direct economic gains. Should one assume construction costs of roughly $4 billion, the traditional approach makes it seem like a risky investment. Put in a BROI framework, and there is a different picture.

The healthcare savings alone – again, though impossible to pinpoint exactly – would be in millions of dollars per year alone. Put this with an intangible brand value that is measurable but immeasurable, and there can be no doubt that the Spheres are more than just a financial gamble; they are calculated investments with multifaceted returns.

More importantly, attracting and retaining top talent because people want to work at the company simply because of the Spheres has implications for operational excellence and long-term profitability and competitiveness.

The Amazon Spheres case pushes us past the simplistic economic indicators. It asks us to consider a full set of variables from which one can derive success and profitability in a venture, especially an ambitious undertaking such as incorporating biophilic design into the corporate environment. With the Spheres, Amazon created an architectural wonder and proved that an elegant, designed biophilic space has both direct and indirect economic benefits.

Step up next will be Etsy’s headquarters in Brooklyn – another smaller example, though no less strong, of how biophilic design positively influences a company’s economics. This additional data point will help ground our understanding of real-world applicability when it comes to BROI.

Amazon and Google, two tech behemoths, offer examples from the perspective of these large companies. From a standpoint such as this mid-sized company itself, Etsy—a global marketplace for handmade and vintage goods—offers an interesting angle. Its headquarters in Brooklyn, New York, do one of the most successful implementations of a biophilic design scheme among corporate ventures—and they calculated economic gains via BROI emanating from this venture that are invaluable insights for any size corporation considering such a path. Overview

Etsy’s second head office houses around 1,000 employees spread across around 200,000 square feet. Its building is truly an icon of sustainability and biophilic design: open spaces flooding with natural light, abundant plants, reclaimed wood furniture, and even a living wall. The vertical garden serves aesthetic as well as functional purposes. Economic Metrics

On average, since opening the new headquarters, Etsy has reported monumental increases in employee retention rates. Internal studies indicate a turnover decrease of about 20% between the first and second years of office operation. Similarly, internal productivity metrics have shown marked increases – an estimated 12% increase in employee output. These gains in efficiency translate into enormous economic benefits, especially considering avoided costs associated with staff turnover, such as recruitment and training expenses.

In addition to other factors, Brooklyn-based Etsy’s office is built to LEED Platinum and Living Building Challenge standards, meaning that the entire operation reduces energy consumption by 30%. This saves on monthly operating costs. Additionally, using local and sustainable materials for the building also lines up perfectly with the company’s brand identity, giving a vital intangible component to the BROI equation.

The experience that Etsy brings to reinforce the principle of being a universal truth applicable to mid-sized companies, not just corporate giants, has validated the BROI concept of biophilic design. A reduction in turnover and an increase in productivity would alone prove a positive economic case for biophilic design. Coupled with lower operational costs and brand alignment, the Brooklyn headquarters of Etsy is a perfect model of how biophilic design can help mid-sized companies achieve economic viability.

Assuming that Etsy spent about $40 million on its initial installations for biophilic interventions, the approximate annual gains from increased productivity, reduced turnover, and operational costs could easily be above $10 million. This does not even include intangible benefits such as employee satisfaction or brand alignment, which adds another layer to the BROI analysis.

Google and Amazon reiterate that besides being aesthetically pleasing, biophilic design has many multifaceted benefits, making it excellent fodder both for aspirational studies and those seeking economic validation of initiatives such as these.

Such are the three varied yet synergistic case studies in which our survey has spanned the breadth and adaptability as well as, above all else, economic viability of biophilic office spaces via BROI. Mid-sized companies to tech giants alike—clearly—it is no longer merely an ethical or aesthetic choice; it’s an economic decision proven by measurable metrics.

Conclusion: Biophilic Design’s Economic Imperative
In today’s uber-competitive business backdrop, organizations are always looking for novel means at their disposal to gain an edge over competitors. The same was true about biophilic design, often touted for its aesthetic and psychological benefits but emerging to be more than just a fad—it has actually been established to be an investment with demonstrable returns—and therefore, this article has disassembled the concept of Biophilic Return on Investment (BROI) as perhaps most comprehensive framework for understanding economic implications of biophilic office spaces. We have probed through both quantitative and qualitative indicators before validating these through case studies at Google, Amazon, and Etsy.

These case studies tell an underlying story, whether it’s Google saving millions in energy costs and increasing workplace productivity, Amazon’s Spheres serving as healthcare cost-saving measures alongside an architectural branding marvel, or even Etsy – the economic value of biophilic design sure isn’t something that can be ignored.

The BROI framework allows for a more nuanced metric to capture the complexity of impact brought on by these biophilic initiatives far beyond what traditional ROI could convey. The BROI captures not only immediate financial gains but also intangible yet equally important aspects like employee well-being, brand perception, and long-term sustainability.

In the real world, biophilic designs have been realized in Google, Amazon, and Etsy, both as a testimonial to viability and even a blueprint to other businesses contemplating the economic feasibility of biophilic design. They are perhaps not merely metrics for which to strive discreetly but concrete numbers to which organizations can refer to inform decisions.

Final Thought
Biophilic design, at its essence, is a philosophy to balance nature with the built environment. But it is more than just a design ethos; it is an economic initiative. In this era, when any boost in competitive edge counts, BROI serves as a metric and a justification for integrating biophilic elements into office space.

Businesses looking to improve productivity, reduce operational costs, enhance employee well-being, and raise brand should consider both the aesthetic value of biophilic design as well as economic value. The path to better business may be a walk through greener, more natural office environments.

Hopefully, such a line of reasoning sheds light on the economic impetus behind integrating biophilic design elements in corporate workspaces. The empirical evidence backs such investments when evaluated from the holistic lens of BROI, which are beneficial and economically essential for modern organizations.

The bottom line is clear: biophilic design isn’t just luxury or an aesthetic choice; it’s a business imperative with concrete economic benefits. As we move into the more competitive and complex landscape for businesses, the need to integrate biophilic elements into our workspaces will only grow, supported by indisputable proof of positive economic impact.

And so, the question becomes – not if companies can afford to implement biophilic design – rather, can they afford not to?

carl
Author

Carl, a biophilic design specialist, contributes his vast expertise to the site through thought-provoking articles. With a background in environmental design, he has over a decade of experience in incorporating nature into urban architecture. His writings focus on innovative ways to integrate natural elements into living and working environments, emphasizing sustainability and well-being. Carl's articles not only educate but also inspire readers to embrace nature in their daily lives.

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