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Future-Proof Workspaces: Office Must-Haves in the New Normal

As the world continues to battle the global health crisis, people realize the importance of safer and healthier spaces. While most businesses implement a more flexible working arrangement and offer remote work options, companies can take notes and prepare for the reopening of the economy in the post-pandemic era. 

Health experts and workplace strategists agree that office will no longer be the same in the new normal. And while it might look like a momentous change, property owners and developers can take advantage of the opportunity to design better and safer workspaces for their employees.

Better, safer, and healthier safe spaces require a few “must-haves” to ensure the overall well-being of its occupants.

Future-proof Workplace

With more employees being health-conscious, a future-proof workplace successfully incorporates sustainability, sophistication, and safety in its design and layout. Premium office spaces provide an additional layer of protection to its tenants against the virus and other threats to their holistic health.

Structural and technological upgrades help boost confidence and peace of mind, enforce protocols, and track activity for tenants to feel safer and be inspired at work.

Smart Technology and Automation

According to an article in June, many Filipino employees still look forward to returning to the office once their safety and health are guaranteed to be protected in the workplace. Research also shows that employees feel safer when common touchpoints are lessened or eliminated.

Smart offices are workspaces that utilize automated processes to enhance building operations, from air conditioning and heating, lighting, and security. All of these conveniences will start to be the standard in eliminating and reducing risks after the recent pandemic and other health threats.

READ MORE: Pushing Sustainable Offices: Leveraging smart technology for safety, productivity

Going contactless or touchless is one of the key features to consider for the smart office. Sensors, access cards, or recognition software can be utilized in the entry to and exit from the premises and its amenities. This will help reduce the risks of contamination and transmission in these spaces.

Office and commercial buildings that utilize top-grade amenities, such as JEG Tower @ One Acacia, protect its tenants by going limiting contact points in the workspace and shared areas. Tenants and visitors can enter through automatic sliding doors where they can scan QR codes for a hassle-free registration. In common area bathrooms, automatic faucets and flushing will be installed to make it hands-free or remove unnecessary surface contact.

Hospital-grade Environment

Diseases and viruses spread fast inside enclosed, poorly ventilated spaces like the office. In the longer term, many experts say that ensuring office spaces provide a ‘hospital-grade’ environment is more ideal for building owners and landlords.

JEG Tower @ One Acacia, utilize the Minimum Efficiency Reporting Values or MERV filters that can capture particles in the air from 0.3 and 10 microns (µm). Higher value in MERV ratings leads to better filtration, fewer dust particles, and other airborne contaminants. It promotes a healthy breathing environment, and it will not allow the growth of bacteria, mold, mildew, or fungi. Some MERV filters can even filter pollen, dust, and microscopic droplets in the air to a certain extent.

RELATED: Why JEG Tower is the perfect new normal workplace

Premium-grade office developments, such as JEG Tower @ One Acacia, are pivoting their office re-entry strategies and offering safer and healthier spaces for businesses and tenants. This 22-storey green commercial development in Metro Cebu uplifts the health and wellness of its tenants.

Want to learn more about JEG Tower @ One Acacia? Contact Lorenzo Rodriguez at (+63) 917-825-6884. For inquiries and more information, call us at (+63) 2-8403-5519 or send an email to info@kmcmaggroup.com.

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Wellness Ratings & The Office: Why it Matters

The global health crisis has undoubtedly highlighted the need for ‘healthier’ and safer buildings and public spaces. Now more than ever, people need a safer and healthier workplace. The ‘new normal’ presents an opportunity for companies to reevaluate the priorities for their employees and tenants and pivot towards a more sustainable approach in commercial real estate in the Philippines.

Driven by the growing consciousness and awareness of the public to the importance of such spaces, there is also an increasing appetite from investors and owners for buildings to implement more holistic measures which improve the spaces they offer to the public.

What is a Building ‘Wellness Rating’?

Wellness ratings aim to measure and recognize public spaces that provide utmost importance to the health and well-being of its tenants. These ratings are certifications that developers and property owners aspire to complete and achieve as a symbol of their commitment to building spaces that put a premium on the public’s welfare, especially in the new normal.

Wellness Ratings in the Philippines

In the Philippines, commercial developments can aim for LEED, BERDE, and WELL certifications to ensure the quality of spaces they construct and offer to the public.

LEED or the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Development is one of the certifications that buildings in the country can apply to ensure the safety, comfort, and security of the building’s occupiers.

Developed by the US Green Building Council (USGBC), it is an internationally recognized certification program that provides a third-party verification that a building was designed and built following strategies aimed to underscore the triple bottom line of sustainability: People, Planet, and Profit.

The ‘People’ concept of sustainability highlights the importance of the experience inside the building. It emphasizes how providing an ideal environment for occupants can contribute to their working performance, motivation, happiness, and its overall impacts on public health and society as a whole.

READ MORE: LEED’s Triple Bottomline: How JEG Tower @ One Acacia uplifts People, Planet, and Profit

BERDE, or the Building for Ecologically Responsive Design Excellence, is a tool to assess, measure, monitor, and certify the performance of green building projects in the Philippines. Developed by the Philippine Green Building Council, this rating aims to ensure green buildings perform and follow existing national and local building and environmental laws, regulations, and mandatory standards in the country.

WELL, on the other hand, is a performance-based system for measuring, certifying, and monitoring features of the built environment that impact human health and wellbeing. Commercial buildings and establishments are evaluated through various elements that contribute and affect holistic well-being of the public including air, water, nourishment, light, fitness, comfort, and mind.

Why is Wellness Important in the Office

Commercial developments and office buildings in the Philippines should aim to provide healthy and safe spaces for their tenants, employees, and occupants. Putting the public’s well-being on top of the priority will not only be a unique feature for an establishment but will also benefit the business in the long run.

Studies show that healthy and happy employees perform better and faster in the workplace, effectively increasing their output and boosting their motivation to work. Healthy workspaces also improve and maintain employee morale, fosters loyalty, and increase employee retention.

Moreover, a company that takes care of their employees by providing healthy and safe workspaces create a better and more ideal brand identity and reputation.

With its vision of Bringing Work to Life, JEG Tower @ One Acacia revolutionizes work and life balance by integrating sustainability and sophistication in its design and operations. Office spaces in this 22-storey commercial tower offer the best working environment, amplified by its unique green features and guided by LEED standards.

Interested to learn more? Connect with Lorenzo Rodriguez at (+63) 917-825-6884 to find out how you can locate your business in the best workplace in Cebu City.

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Greener Philippines: Achieving True Sustainability In Real Estate

Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, leading property developers in the Philippines such as JEG Development Corporation have envisioned a greener approach to real estate. Apart from achieving premium green certifications such as Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED), achieving true sustainability has been a distinctive feature as more green developments get built.

In the US, more cities are moving toward achieving net-zero carbon emissions by 2025. Improving energy efficiency and sustainability across the current real estate portfolio has been well integrated into the community and urban planning in many countries including the Philippines. The increased demand for better workplaces and sustainable spaces is also due to the remarkable improvement in employee satisfaction.

A US study shows that a 27% increase in satisfaction was reported when individuals are placed inside a healthy building. Using environmentally friendly materials and focusing on indoor air quality have been identified as the key health aspects considered by occupants.

True sustainability goes deeper than having green amenities or features as it can only be achieved through the full-life-cycle approach. According to the Life Cycle Initiative, sustainability should be integrated at all stages of the design and build. Emissions at any stage of designing and construction should be properly tracked to match the claim.

These green considerations must be of vital importance from sourcing or manufacturing materials used to the facilities and amenities placed in the development. The approach also covers the inclusion of green spaces, energy and water efficiency or consumption, and waste management.

Approach On Being Distinctively Green

In the Philippines, JEG Tower @ One Acacia is one of Cebu’s most sustainable estates as it goes beyond the definition of green. Apart from creating premium spaces for work, JEG Development Corporation believes that an occupant-focused and wellbeing-centric approach is impactful on an economic level.

Employing the full-life-cycle approach, the building is created from recyclable construction materials as it utilized steel and cement from coal-fire powerplant waste.

READ MORE: Sustainability Report: How does JEG Tower @ One Acacia contribute to the People, Planet, and Profit?

It also integrated efficiency beyond energy, water, and waste by making sure that it is designed sustainably. Its operable windows prioritized efficiency over aesthetics to provide many key benefits such as optimal indoor air quality by allowing the flow of fresh air and natural light to space.

JEG Tower @ One Acacia has also touched on sustainable transportation by providing ample bike racks and shower rooms for cyclists. They also started an incentivized bike program for JDC employees to encourage fitness and reduce carbon emissions accordingly.

In terms of greenery, the Grade A tower has allocated pocket gardens inside the building and is committed to providing unique outdoor spaces to its occupants. Its groundbreaking green roof will showcase and be home to plants endemic to Cebu.

As with any urban development, JDC has remained steadfast in its pursuit to push for sustainability that does not only provides beautiful spaces but will provide many benefits to its occupants and local communities.

Locate in the greenest and best workplace in Cebu today. Contact Lorenzo Rodriguez at (+63)-917-825 6884 for listing inquiries and more information.