Can “Green” Buildings have Negative Health Effects?

This RMI fact sheet responds to claims that "green" buildings could harm human health, clarifying that an Institute of Medicine report on climate change and indoor environments does not actually discuss "green" buildings, but rather focuses on the impact of tighter, energy-efficient building envelopes.

• The RMI clarifies that an Institute of Medicine report, which was cited by some media outlets to suggest green buildings are harmful, does not actually discuss "green" buildings; instead, it focuses on the impact of climate change on human health in indoor environments and identifies buildings with tighter, more energy efficient envelopes as a concern.
• Energy efficient buildings with tight envelopes do not automatically have lower ventilation rates than other code-compliant buildings and may actually have higher rates, as the purpose of a tight envelope is to reduce unintended air movement, which may require an increase in intended ventilation.
• The U.S. Department of Energy’s Weatherization Assistance Program for residences requires all homes weatherized after January 1, 2012, to meet the most recent minimum ventilation standards to address potential issues with increased construction tightness.
• Historical instances of "sick building syndrome" in the late 1970s and 1980s occurred when commercial building ventilation rates were reduced to two- to four-times lower than current levels to save energy, demonstrating that energy efficiency and health objectives can be at odds if ventilation is not managed.

APA

RMI (2011). Can “Green” Buildings have Negative Health Effects? https://rmi.org/resources/cangreenbuildingsnegativehealtheffects/

Chicago

RMI. Can “Green” Buildings have Negative Health Effects? 2011. https://rmi.org/resources/cangreenbuildingsnegativehealtheffects/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=RMI |title=Can “Green” Buildings have Negative Health Effects? |date=15 June 2011 |url=https://rmi.org/resources/cangreenbuildingsnegativehealtheffects/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{rmi2011can, author = {{RMI}}, title = {{Can “Green” Buildings have Negative Health Effects?}}, institution = {RMI}, year = {2011}, month = jun, url = {https://rmi.org/resources/cangreenbuildingsnegativehealtheffects/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }