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Occupant Satisfaction in LEED and BREEAM-Certified Office Buildings

Abstract

Green certification schemes, such as LEED in US and BREEAM in UK, are contributing to promote thesustainability agenda in the design and operation of office buildings. However, the role of rating tools towardsimproved workplace experience is still much debated. Previous work by the authors provided evidence that LEEDrating per se does not significantly and substantively influence occupant satisfaction with indoor environmentqualities, although tendencies showed that LEED-certified buildings were more effective in delivering satisfaction inopen spaces rather than in enclosed offices, and in small rather than in large buildings. This paper investigatesoccupant satisfaction in BREEAM-rated office buildings in UK. User responses were collected by cross-sectionalquestionnaires and point-in-time surveys administered while physical measurements were taken. Consistent withearlier work, the results showed that BREEAM certification does not have a significant and practically-relevant effecton building and workspace satisfaction, although tendencies revealed that occupants of non-BREEAM buildings weremore satisfied with visual privacy and air quality than users of BREEAM-rated workspaces. Lower satisfaction wasdetected in BREEAM buildings for occupants having spent more than 24 months at their workplace. These resultssupport previous findings, suggesting further research on the sustained benefits of green certification over time.

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