Bio4:

A Biophilic Design Education, Strategy and Consulting Group

Facilitating The Creation of Positive Workplace Environments

Sustainability Studio Report

May 15th, 2013

Bio4 Team: Gabriela Aschenberger | Nick Lawrence | Pablo Prieto | Q Thang Do

1

DESIGN PREDICAMENT IN THE WORKPLACE

Our team originally formed around mutual interest on the topic of noise and light pollution and its pervasive butcommonly unknown effects on humans, animals, and the environment. We continued to narrow our focus looking atspecific spaces where noise and light pollution have widespread adverse effects that manifest themselves in more ofa discrete and subtle manner yet create systemic problems. Our thought process led us to the built environment andthe workplace, a space where employee effectiveness, creativity, and well being are often compromised in thepursuit of maximization of profitability. We were ultimately able to identify that this very problem that plagues oursociety is the direct result of poorly executed design strategy and requires a human­centered innovative solution.

Companies rely on the workplace to enable work and team dynamics with the intention these spaces will promoteproductivity which will be translated into revenue. Prioritization of profitability is often at the expense of the worker’spersonal health and well­being with prolonged exposure to artificial lighting, an unproductive ambience,unsatisfactory thermal comfort, and poor air quality. Our research led us to findings that indicated the overall health,motivation, and long term efficiency of employees is being jeopardized because they are being deprived of access tonatural systems and good design. Living systems and good interior design practices provide employees with thenecessary sensory interactions that support physiological and psychological health, in turn stimulating productivity,efficiency, and effectual management of resources such as electrical consumption which is a large contributor toindirect greenhouse gas emissions.

The scientific and academic community adamantly believes that humans have a deeply innate emotional affiliationand attraction to nature. Our earliest ancestors lived their lives as hunters and gatherers on the African savanna,completely reliant on their natural surroundings and environment for basic survival.

As civilization has advanced over time through industrialization, departure from agrarian practices, and urbanization,we have increasingly distanced ourselves from the natural world and elements that are critical to sustaining life. Wehave designed ourselves into a predicament in which we have deprived ourselves of our basic evolutionary needs thatare coded in our DNA.

Facilitating the coexistence of humans and natural living systems in the workspace through various design solutionsis the key to our longevity that not only serves the interests of businesses and their bottom line but supports theresiliency of civil society.

BUILT ENVIRONMENT & WORKPLACE DESIGN STRATEGY

We spend 90% of our time within the built environment. 40% of that time is spent in the workplace. Today,1 2

corporations spend 112 times the amount of money on people as on energy costs in the office , highlighting the3

effect that employees have on a company’s bottom line. The commercial sector has increasingly contributed tosignificant environmental disruption through high levels of energy consumption, greenhouse gas emissions, rawmaterials use, waste output, and potable water use . To provide greater context, the commercial sector alone is4

responsible for 20% of the total electrical consumption in the US. In 2011, direct emissions from homes and5

1 http://www.ecolivinghale.com/green­healthy­programs.php2 http://www.bls.gov/tus/charts/#work3http://www.terrapinbrightgreen.com/downloads/The%20Economics%20of%20Biophilia_Terrapin%20Bright%20Green%202012e.pdf4 http://www.epa.gov/oaintrnt/projects/5 http://buildingsdatabook.eren.doe.gov/ChapterIntro3.aspx

2

businesses accounted for 11% of the total greenhouse gas emissions . Over the past 20 years, there has been a6

35% rise in indirect emissions from electricity consumption from the residential and commercial industries with thetop three end uses being space cooling, lighting, and space heating. Findings implicate that overall productivity,health, and well being of employees directly correlate to effective resource management and environmentalresponsibility. A healthier and more productive labor force can translate into less time spent in the office setting,which means a significant reduction in environmental impact of the built environment and higher profitability forbusinesses.

Hundreds of millions of dollars are spent annually on healthcare costs associated with employee illness, mentalstress, and fatigue that are directly linked to poorly designed workspaces that lack a connection to nature.Connecting patients with nature in hospitals has been shown to reduce the average length of stay by approximately½ of a day which can amount to $93 million in hospital costs savings per year. If nature views advance the healing7

process, then natural design elements in the workplace should hold the key to increasing cognition and mentalenergy and can essentially be considered a “preventative” measure to illness.

According to a study published by Herman Miller, a leader innovator in workplace strategy and design solutions,strategic seating arrangements at the Sacramento Municipal Utility District Call Center revealed that agents with aview of the outdoors and nature responded to calls 12 percent faster than those with no view, generating an annual8

savings of nearly $3,000 per employee .9

In another study compiled by Terrapin Bright Green, a leading environmental consultancy, there was a 10%difference in absenteeism rates between two sides of a building, with one side exposed to views of nature and theother side without. There were 10% fewer recorded employee absences on the side with views of nature. The studyfound that the quality of the person’s view to be the primary predictor of absenteeism.

It is clear that the key to a resilient and prosperous society is making an investment in sustainably designed workenvironments that provide health and productivity benefits to employees through a deeper connection to nature,whether it is through access to plants, views of nature, or natural daylighting.

SOCIAL VALUE PROPOSITION : COMMUNICATING BIOPHILIA

Biophilia is a theory established by Edward O. Wilson, a biologist, and Stephen Kellert, a social ecologist, in theirwork, The Biophila Hypothesis, published in 1984. The hypothesis states that humans are hardwired through ourevolutionary framework and genetic makeup to be connected with nature on a physical, mental, and social level. Theterm Biophilia literally means "love of life or living systems."

While biophilia is conceptual and theoretical, it has been recognized by the scientific and design community for thepast few decades. Humans have experienced biophilia intuitively for thousands of years on more of a cursory level,however it is still considered arguably an emerging design discipline and scientific concept that has a great deal ofsubtlety and richness to it. We believe that biophilia can be extremely impactful and become adopted as standarddesign practice, if its benefits were communicated to a wider audience and the greater working population at a morecommunity based level.

By communicating and disseminating information about biophilic design benefits to our key stakeholders, biophilia

6 http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/ghgemissions/sources/commercialresidential.html7http://www.terrapinbrightgreen.com/downloads/The%20Economics%20of%20Biophilia_Terrapin%20Bright%20Green%202012e.pdf8 http://www.hermanmiller.com/research/solution­essays/call­centers­find­their­voice.html#source89http://www.terrapinbrightgreen.com/downloads/The%20Economics%20of%20Biophilia_Terrapin%20Bright%20Green%202012e.pdf

3

will have a greater and more pronounced chance of being adopted as a sound workplace investment that will yieldprofitability for business, healthier people, and a healthier planet.

Workspaces that strategically incorporate biophilic design elements can provide positive measurable returns asstudies have proven. However, the question remains how do we arrive there faster? Through our research weuncovered that there was a significant disconnect and misalignment between our defined key stakeholders. Weunveiled that there are many different parties involved with the process of implementing biophilic design at somelevel, however, these critical parties are not interacting with each other. We believe that in order to expedite theprocess towards large scale deployment and adoption of biophilic design, these groups need to interact with eachother after learning about the tangible benefits of biophilia in order to create successful and high impact projects.These groups of stakeholders have the ability to leverage certain resources to create successful projects byinteracting with each other and understanding the breadth of their respective capabilities and skills.

We categorized the key stakeholders into three groups:

1) Facilities Managers: Facilities managers are responsible for the management of services and processes thatsupport the core business of an organisation. They ensure that an organisation has the most suitable workingenvironment for its employees and their activities. They have a vested interest in creating high satisfaction amongstemployees and increasing overall productivity. Their decisions have the potential to influence all the employees undertheir management.

2) Interior Designers & Architects: They have the power of developing better interior environments, and there aremany professionals interested in designing high­performance, sustainable and creative projects. If there is a marketrequesting projects around biophilic design, those designers who embrace it in their work will be satisfying thisdemand.

3) Manufacturers: Some are already producing many sustainable and even nature­inspired solutions that can beimmediately implemented into the workplace. These firms could ultimately benefit from understanding more aboutthe concept of biophilia and its direct correlation to sustainable design and workplace productivity and also can forgestrong partnerships with interior designers, architects and facilities managers.

Our solution's social value proposition is as follows:

If facilities managers learn about the benefits of biophilic design, they will elect to adopt it in the workplace. Ifinterior designers and architects learn about the benefits of biophilic design and how it can contribute to create apositive sustainable environment, they will incorporate it in their projects. By providing education services in venueswhere these groups can interact, we will accelerate the process of moving towards our goal of creating positiveworkplace environments on a larger scale, increasing employees health and well being, enhancing productivity andprofitability and reducing indirect greenhouse gas emissions.

Business Concept Validation

We spoke to some potential key stakeholders to know if there was an interest in learning about the benefits ofbiophilia, especially in the context of the workplace and if they were interested in creating this connection among theother stakeholders. In total we interviewed:

5 Interior Designers/Architects: Ethan Lu, Program Director of Master’s in Sustainable Interior Environmentsat New York School of Interior Design; Catie Ryan, Project Director at Terrapin Bright Green; Teri from TeriBehm Architects; Debbie Meredith from BiophilicInteriors.com and Diana Lee from BioMimicry Group.

3 Manufacturers: Herman miller, Interface and Sage Vertical Garden Systems

4

4 Facilities Managers: Catherine Belmont from Systems & Space, Inc.; Jordan Borowitz, Director ofExternal Communications at The Durst Organization; Marlena Pena from SF Unified School; and EBCfacility manager from Mexico.

The feedback was that all of them were interested in the concept to not only promote their products and services butalso given their commitment to sustainability and sustainable design practices.

SOCIAL IMPACT

The desired social outcomes from our innovation project are categorized into enhanced public health, a cleanerenvironment, and higher profitability.

Enhanced Public Health & Wellness

Educating, influencing, and enriching society about nature’s impact on humanity and the common desire to connecthumans with natural elements and elements that are evocative of nature in order to proliferate health, productivity,and sustainable human development. Biophilic design principles have the ability to attract and retain highly skilledemployees also creating positive benefits for society.

Proven research has pointed to the improved physiological and psychological well being of employees whenconnected with nature in the workplace. As a result of high levels of hormonal and cranial stress, often acceleratedby being in poorly lit and poorly designed workspaces, people can encounter coronary heart disease, a disease thatcosts $108 billion a year. As part of a useful workplace design strategy, biophilic design principles can be utilized inthe office setting to provide healing qualities that can mitigate stress levels, sleep irregularities, and respiratoryproblems to name a few.

A Cleaner Environment

The impact of the built environment can be reduced through the introduction of natural daylighting schemes, livingwalls, and natural elements that require significantly less reliance on electrical consumption, specifically spacecooling, lighting, and space heating which are the leading contributors of indirect greenhouse gas emissions. In thisclosed­loop system, connecting humanity with nature in their daily routine will have a resounding positive influenceon the reduction of human­induced impacts on climate change.

Profitability

Adoption and deployment of biophilia is one of the soundest investments an employer can make. Case studies haveindicated that economic benefits that can be derived from biophilic experiences in the workplace due to improvedstress recovery rates, lower blood pressure, improved cognitive functioning, and enhanced mental stamina that driveproductivity. All of these advantages decrease the chance of illness, increase staff retention and overall jobperformance.

SOCIAL IMPACT INDICATORS

The social impact indicators can be measured through:

Reduction of energy consumption

5

More effective management of resources with increased cognition and productivity, meaning lesstime spent at office

Reduced impact on climate change Lowered atmospheric concentration of CO2, lowered reliance on fossil fuels, and reduced

fracking with reduced use of HVAC systems (space cooling and heating) and lighting Increase of air, soil and water quality Minimized contribution to global warming Improvement in human and ecosystem health

Improved air quality, acoustics, and reduction of toxins and humidity in the air through use of plants andliving walls

Improved health, well­being, motivation, and creativity Reduction with risk of respiratory, cardiac and circulatory issues Reduction in stress levels Reduction with fatigue Reduction in headaches Reduction in sleep irregularities Reduction in musculoskeletal disorders

Reduction in employee absenteeism and in health care premiums and costs, and higher employee retentionrates

Due to improved health Due to employee satisfaction

Reduction in overtime hours worked and associated labor costs, and in business hours worked Due to increased productivity

PROPOSED SOLUTION

Mission Statement

Bio4 is a biophilic design education, consultancy and strategy group inspired to engage people about the tangiblebenefits of nature's impact on humanity within the built environment. We are committed to advancing our vision of atransformative shift towards large­scale adoption and deployment of biophilic design into the workplace through acarefully crafted and compelling experience. We are striving to carve out a direct path to a resilient society, byeliminating barriers and bridging gaps in order to redefine the standards of the green building movement through aholistic design strategy approach.

Through the key activities of educational workshops, webinars, a mobile biophilic design experience housed in aretrofitted bus and a curated kit of biophilic design education resources and materials, we are targeting leadinginnovative manufacturers, interior designers, architects, and facilities managers to educate them about therestorative, regenerative, and systems­level impacts of nature­inspired design. Our designed experience conveysnature’s influence on humanity and its profound ability to diminish human­induced impact on the environment and itspotential to elevate our overall creativity and well being.

Key Features/Activities

1) Awareness phase

Value Proposition: Educate people about biophilic design.

6

Reason: Most people have never heard about biophilia and don't know its benefits.

Purpose: Grow the interest about this topic, achieve greater credibility, grow our name (Bio4).

Strategy: Go under the umbrella of more established groups and participate in their events as guest speakers oroffering lectures.

Strategic Partnership: LEED, USGBC, PG&E Energy Education Center, Biomimicry org, Verge, Permaculture,Cradle to cradle, Ecological design.

How it works: Bio4 team will participate in the events as guest speakers and will talk about the relationship betweenbiophilia, workplace and productivity. At the end, a kit will be provided to attendees with brochures and some natureinspired product design samples from leading manufacturers.

2) Market Creation phase

Value Proposition: Host events to educate about biophilia and connect stakeholders.

Reason: There are three stakeholders (facilities managers, interior designers/architects and manufacturers) whodon't typically connect with each other.

Purpose: Grow the interest in companies to adopt biophilia, inspire interior designers and architects to adoptbiophilia in their work, increase the exposure of manufacturers' products.

Strategy: Offer a place to foster this connection, by charging only the entry admission to the event

Strategic Partnership: Biomimicry org, Permaculture, Ecological design, LEED, USGBC, Rocky Mountain Institute,and manufacturers: Herman Miller, Interface, Lumicor, 3 Form.

How it works: The workshops happen in a space rented by Bio4. Prior to the events, an invite is sent via socialmedia, press and personal contact to facility manager organizations, architecture and design schools, andprofessionals.

The workshop takes at least 3 hours and consists of two parts: the first is a lecture given by Bio4 team, showing theconnection between biophilia and the workplace, as well as its benefits. In the second part, two guest speakers(partners and/or specialists from the field) are invited to give a lecture, in accordance with the topic.

Once the lectures are done, the attendees will be invited to go to the bus that will be waiting outside of the building.The bus will be decorated and outfitted in the interior according to the theme of the seminar/workshop so people areable to experience it.

(A graphic rendering of the bus can be found in Appendix A)

At the end, attendees will receive a kit with a brochure and some samples from the strategic partners.

(For copy of the brochure please refer to Appendix B)

Our events will also occur on the internet via webinars. The webinars will be hosted once a month and will bestructured and organized in a similar fashion to the events hosted in a venue. There are two speakers (one from Bio4and one guest speaker who is a partner) and participants will be able to connect with them afterwards through aforum.

7

Another benefit for the manufacturers, besides being part of our events as guest speakers and providing sampleofferings, is the exposure of their products on our website as a promotional opportunity. Through the touchpoint ofour website, people will be able to find all the information they need about biophilic design in one centralized space.

3) Market Satisfaction phase

Value Proposition: In parallel to the hosted events, we are going to offer consultancy services and drive the creationpositive workplace environments through guidance and key insights

Reason: After 3 years, we will be able to create interest about biophilia amongst facilities managers anddesigners/architects and build our name and have credibility in this topic

Purpose: Explore the new market

Strategy: Work as consultants and offer the biophilic design services for facilities managers to be applied in theirworkplace.

We will offer a certificate to facilities managers that will serve as a guarantee that their office meets biophilic designstandards through the development of a unique credit rating system.

Risk: By keeping the bus experience, we might be creating our own competition. The bus offers the connectionbetween managers and designers, and managers can hire them instead of us. Depending on the revenue stream, wemight have to chose between both.

A complete overview of our business model canvas can be found in Appendix C.

ROLLOUT PLAN

We have selected the city of San Francisco as the first location to launch our service as the Bay Area is a denselypopulated region with many registered businesses, facilities managers, licensed architects and interior designersthat could be paired well with our product­market fit. Additionally, as San Francisco is an incubator for innovativepractices and sustainable solutions, we would be positioning ourselves to receive a lot of traffic purely fromintellectual curiosity and those seeking knowledge.

Short­term (Year 1): Awareness phase

Participate in 6 events (preferably those which the target is workplace) Lecture about biophilia with a targeted audience of 180 attendees over the 6 events, which can have the

potential to influence 18,000 employees

Medium­term (Years 2­3): Market Creation phase

Purchase bus for $1 as a retired transit authority bus from a municipality, service it to ensure it is road­readyand then retrofit it.

Host 24 workshops (once a month), for an average of 45 attendees each, achieving a targeted total of 1080attendees, which can influence 108,000 employees

Host 24 webinars (once a month), for an average of 100 attendees each, achieving a targeted total of 2400attendees, which can influence 240,000 employees

8

Long­term (Years 4­5): Market Satisfaction phase

Host 24 workshops (once a month), for an average of 80 attendees each, achieving a targeted total of 1920attendees, which can influence 192,000 employees

Host 24 webinars (once a month), for an average of 100 attendees each, achieving a targeted total of 2400attendees, which can influence 240,000 employees

Launch consultancy. Secure and close at least 3 projects each year.

(A detailed five year budget can be found in Appendix D)

COMPETITIVE ASSESSMENT

We have identified some competitors that are doing a great deal to generate awareness and engage a wide range ofstakeholders about biophilic design such as Interface, which has a broad approach in terms of the distribution ofcomprehensive marketing materials about biophilia, promoting their biophilic design challenge, and offerings of arange of biophilic design inspired products. They are a strong competitor in terms of being the most formidablecatalyst in bridging together workplace innovation/manufacturers, interior designers, architects, and facilitiesmanagers to communicate biophilic design benefits. A company such as Interface could be seen as a competitor interms of the information they disseminate that directly relates to biophilic design, however, we also see them as astrategic partner for our solution that would be mutually beneficial.

With regard to research, strategy, and consulting services Terrapin Bright Green would be a good model to emulateto educate our stakeholders in regions where they may not have as much visibility and presence such as the westcoast. In terms of the differentiation with our team’s approach we believe there is tremendous value in bringing thesestakeholders into one space through a two­prong approach, educating them through “design­night” workshops andwebinars but also providing them with an unparalleled opportunity to experience biophilia first hand with the kit andbus, which is not a practice we are aware of being implemented in the ecosystem we are trying to occupy.

CONCLUSION

Bio4 is an innovative solution that provides a dynamic interactive space for facilities managers, interior designers,architects, and leading manufacturers of sustainable workplace products to receive educational resources about thetangible benefits of biophilic design. Our solution provides a unique space where thought leaders of the builtenvironment can interact around the topic of biophilic design in order to lead to large scale deployment and adoptionof biophilia in the office setting. Popularizing implementation of biophilic design will provide societal benefits whichinclude a healthy, creative and satisfied workforce, a cleaner environment, and profitable businesses. Our analysisand research has validated that there is a need for this solution in the marketplace and has provided justification totake this project to a test launch phase.

9

Appendix

Appendix A. Retrofitted Bus

10

Appendix B. Brochurei) Front

11

ii) Back

12

Appendix C. Business Model Canvasi) Short­term (Awareness)

13

ii) Medium­Term (Market Creation)

14

iii) Long­Term (Market Satisfaction)

15

Appendix D. Financials

16