Item 2: Results from the Whole Life Performance Plus project
The Whole Life Performance Plus (WLP+) project report provides evidence and detailed insights into the relationship between poor indoor environmental conditions and dissatisfied, unproductive or unwell workers. Until now the relationship between indoor environmental conditions and productivity has been largely studied in the laboratory.
The main objective of WLP+ project was to gain an empirical, evidence-based understanding of how to optimise working conditions and improve staff performance and productivity. The three-year £530k WLP+ project was supported by Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) and Innovate UK. Professor Rajat Gupta was the academic lead and Alastair Howard of the Low Carbon Building Group was the Researcher on the WLP+ project, which was carried out in collaboration with LCMB Building Performance Ltd and a range of industry partners.
The research found that when CO2 levels were lowered, people completed the tests dramatically faster and scored better.
- Test scores improved by up to 12%
- Where test speed was measured in one building, people worked 60% faster in lower CO2 concentrations, taking a mean of 8.2 minutes to complete a test in low CO2 concentrations, compared with 13.3 minutes in modest CO2 concentrations.
More information can be found at this link and the project report can be accessed here.