Increasing Productivity Through Energy-Efficient Design

The report presents eight case studies of commercial and industrial facilities where energy-efficiency measures—specifically improved lighting, heating, and cooling—led to unanticipated gains in worker productivity and quality of work. It posits that because employee costs are substantially higher than energy costs, even a 1 percent increase in productivity can offset a company's entire annual energy bill. The findings suggest that designs improving visual acuity and thermal comfort are the most effective at driving these productivity gains.

• Energy-efficient design can lead to productivity gains that are economically more significant than the energy savings themselves, as a 1 percent increase in productivity can provide savings exceeding a company's entire energy bill.
• Lighting retrofits in industrial and office settings have measurably reduced errors and defects. For example, Boeing's lighting upgrades improved the ability of workers to detect imperfections in aircraft interior sidewall panels by 20 percent, and Hyde Tools saw a quality improvement estimated at $25,000 annually due to the ability to see 'mud holes' on blades.
• Improved lighting and environmental quality are linked to reduced absenteeism. Case studies show a 25 percent drop in sick leave at Pennsylvania Power & Light, a 15 percent drop at Lockheed's Building 157, and a 15 percent reduction at ING Bank's headquarters.
• Specific design interventions, such as the 'environmentally responsive workstations' (ERWs) at West Bend Mutual Insurance, which provide individual control over temperature and airflow, contributed to a statistically significant median productivity increase of approximately 16 percent over the old building.
• Daylighting strategies can positively impact retail sales. At Wal-Mart's 'Eco-Mart' prototype, sales per square foot were significantly higher in the half of the store featuring skylights compared to the half without them.

APA

ROMM, J. J., & BROWNING, W. D. (1998). Increasing Productivity Through Energy-Efficient Design. RMI. https://rmi.org/app/uploads/2017/05/RMI_Document_Repository_Public-Reprts_D94-27_GBBL.pdf

Chicago

ROMM, JOSEPH J., and WILLIAM D. BROWNING. Increasing Productivity Through Energy-Efficient Design. RMI, 1998. https://rmi.org/app/uploads/2017/05/RMI_Document_Repository_Public-Reprts_D94-27_GBBL.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=ROMM |first1=JOSEPH J. |last2=BROWNING |first2=WILLIAM D. |title=Increasing Productivity Through Energy-Efficient Design |publisher=RMI |date=1998 |url=https://rmi.org/app/uploads/2017/05/RMI_Document_Repository_Public-Reprts_D94-27_GBBL.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{romm1998increasing, author = {ROMM, JOSEPH J. and BROWNING, WILLIAM D.}, title = {{Increasing Productivity Through Energy-Efficient Design}}, institution = {RMI}, year = {1998}, url = {https://rmi.org/app/uploads/2017/05/RMI_Document_Repository_Public-Reprts_D94-27_GBBL.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }