Decision-makers Go Green

Corporate real estate executives, whose companies drive demand for office space, are increasingly willing to invest in refurbishing their assets to meet sustainability goals, according to a recent survey.

Some 70% of executives responsible for real estate portfolios totalling billions of square feet across the globe saw sustainability as a critical business issue today, according to the third annual sustainability survey conducted by Jones Lang LaSalle, a property consultancy, and CoreNet Global, a professional association for the global corporate real estate industry.

These results clearly show that sustainability as an issue is here to stay, but companies are increasingly aware of the commercial realities, said Chris Wallbank, JLL's head of Energy and Sustainability Services in Asia-Pacific.

"It is no longer enough to simply be green. Organisations want to see the benefits to the bottom line," he said.

While 67% of respondents said obtaining funds for sustainability strategies was difficult or extremely difficult, 74% would pay a premium to retrofit space to make it more sustainable, up from 53% last year.

But although most executives view sustainability as a priority, only 37% would consider paying a premium on rent and another 21% indicated that they would only be willing to do so if it was offset by lower operating costs.

A significant 89% consider sustainability when making leasing decisions, with 46% always considering energy labels (such as Energy Star or HPE), and 41% always considering green building certifications (such as LEED, BREEAM, Green Star, GreenMark or CASBEE).

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Source: Bangkok Post, 2009-11-13, Link