In an independent survey commissioned by leading real estate advisers CB Richard Ellis (CBRE), environmental standards and sustainability of commercial real estate are important factors for top management in the GCC, when considering the location of a head office in the region.
Nicholas Maclean, Managing Director, CBRE Middle East, commented: “LEED policies are an effective measurement of establishing commercial real estate that is built in accordance with sustainable green practices.
The importance placed on these policies by top management is significant
in contrast to the percentage of active policies actually in place.”
LEED is the internationally recognised sustainability standard, certificating real estate in registered countries as being designed and built using accepted green strategies and practices. Of the 200 respondents surveyed nearly two-thirds (63%) placed a high importance on environmental and sustainability policies when selecting commercial real estate in the Middle East.
Although great importance is placed on LEED standards by top management in the GCC, when questioned 50% of respondents answered that do not have an active LEED policy in place when selecting commercial real estate.
Barriers of entry for not having active policies include the cost to the
developers and landlords, which in an economic downturn is one area where savings can be made. The cost of such sustainability standards is also at the forefront for tenants, as costs can be decreased by selecting real estate that does not comply with LEED as the increased charges are not relayed from the landlord to the tenant.
A separate CBRE survey of 75 corporate occupiers in Europe, Middle East and
Africa region has revealed that 58% of respondents would be prepared to incur
higher costs to occupy a more environmentally-friendly “green” building –
comparing to just 25% of corporate occupier respondents in a similar survey
last year. These findings reiterate the rising importance of sustainability issues on the corporate agenda once more.
Andrew Hallissey, Head of Client Solutions, Global Corporate Services, CBRE,
said: “Corporate occupiers are becoming increasingly aware of the benefits of green buildings in terms of lower energy and occupational costs over the life of a lease. They’re also becoming more discerning about which building features have the most favourable cost-benefit profiles. Equally, the fact that occupiers are “prepared to pay more” doesn’t always translate into action: there is still a shortage of green buildings against which to measure the assertion, partly because of the recession, which is preventing them from making a longer-term decision to occupy an environmentally-friendly building.”
