The Green Premium for Green Offices
Michael Richmond
During the time known as the Orange Era, citric cleaning products were brought to the market boasting of environmental safety, but left a stubborn mindset that these cleaning products were expensive and not as good as conventional products. The good news is that we are now in the Green Era, and the newer products are only 2% to 4% more expensive than commonly-used products. We are slowly discovering that the new generation of Green Products are as good or better than the products now in use by cleaning services.
It is a slow process, but companies are starting to realize that there are other financial considerations to "Going Green." These benefits are referred to as Green Premiums referring to other factors that offer more than a clean building. While we can still enjoy a clean building, the Green Premium refers to the health impact and costs that also hit the company's expense list.
Instead of slowly aggravating the health of the employees, the Green program is designed to avoid harmful practices and introduce healthier alternatives. This new practice will alleviate acute and chronic illnesses, and that has a financial reward that can be a financial asset.
There is a hidden, but obvious, cost to employee absenteeism. It is obvious that your employees are needed to handle business and develop revenue. It may seem that health costs are the concern for the insurance, but your company actually pays for all these costs in increased premiums. Some costs are paid for by the employees, the fact is that companies still pay for health costs in the health insurance premiums. It is a basic fact that healthier employees should equate to lower insurance rates.
While thinking about Green Premiums, consider the value of a more alert and productive workforce. We have all found ourselves in a situation where something triggers a headache, depressed feeling, or aggravation of a condition. It make by a powerful smell, second-hand smoke, or diesel exhaust. Your office can be filled with small detractors from worker productivity.
When considering the larger picture, the health and vitality of any company's workers has an even larger impact in the world. The chronically sick people ad to the societal burden and will certainly affect our taxes. The trash and waste from our companies must be handled by the government, and that will lead to more taxes. We are paying many times over for sick people who might have lived better lives.
As we consider the Green Premium, it is realized in savings through healthy employees. Health insurance, health costs, and taxes are part of the overall equation that we pay in one form or another. Therefore, the 2-4% costs of moving to a Green workplace seems powerfully overwhelmed by the health and tax cost savings.
If your company wants to "Go Green" they need to participate in the (
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