Indoor plants remove workplace pollutants, reduce stress and produce physically and mentally nutritious oxygen.
"Here in New Zealand, Ambius has seen a growing emphasis on 'greening' buildings and sustainability," says Anne Briggs, marketing manager of Ambius Pacific, one of New Zealand's leading interior "plantscaping" companies. "Plants are being used more creatively, often designed into buildings to complement and soften 'hardscape' spaces. Often the plants themselves become an art piece or sculpture," she says.
"A growing number of savvy business managers are recognising the value of providing plants for a specific benefit; to remove the volatile organic compounds from the indoor environment. This helps to prevent sick building syndrome and to improve well-being and productivity."
The symptoms of sick building syndrome include headaches, dizziness, irritated eyes, noses and throats, skin complaints and even nausea.
Sydney's University of Technology of Australia used controlled amounts of the the carcinogen benzene to test how much indoor plants can remove from the air. Benzene is commonly used in work-prevalent substances like inks, oils, paints, plastics and rubber. Just a small range of popular indoor plants removed three to 10 times the maximum permitted Australian occupational indoor air concentrations of each compound within 24 hours, under light or dark conditions.
