Green offices are just ‘better’

With the growing trend for Green office spaces really heating up, new research shows that sustainable, ‘Green’ office buildings actually have many more advantages over those who are not as environmentally conscious. According to experts, sustainable buildings have many competitive advantages over other properties, and while research around this area is still in its early stages, there is strong evidence in favour of making the switch to energy efficient property management.







• Higher returns and property value – according to a study by commercial real estate consultancy firm CB Richard Ellis, sustainably managed buildings on average can anticipate a 4% higher investment return than owners of traditionally managed buildings. The study also found a 5% increase in the value of buildings that had converted to Greener technologies.





• Lower costs – companies can expect to lower their expenditure on things like energy bills, with many large companies with commercial property in Sydney such as ING utilising sustainability professionals to review things like car park energy use and other energy-saving lighting solutions. "Often it costs no more to replace an inefficient piece of electrical equipment with an efficient version," said Haron Robson, managing director of Australian lighting consultancy Glen Haron.





• Greater attractiveness to potential occupiers – Research is supporting the view that more sustainable buildings are able to find occupiers more quickly, especially with recent changes to mandatory disclosure laws, which require office spaces over 2000m2 to advertise their energy efficiency rating to those looking to buy commercial property.





• Better working conditions and employee productivity – Green offices can also expect to see higher employee productivity. In the United States, a study of 31 green buildings in Seattle found that absenteeism was reduced by 40 percent when compared to non-environmentally conscious buildings.







People in all levels of commercial property management in Sydney will no doubt be taking these new findings into consideration when assessing the environmental strategy of their business.