Sustainable buildings 'command premium rents'
Construction
27th May 2009
Companies are willing to pay up to 15 per cent extra for sustainable buildings despite the recession, new figures have shown.
A poll by Lambert Smith Hampton (LSH) on green rents found that two-thirds (76 per cent) of respondents felt that the current climate would cause businesses to postpone taking a sustainable property or one that has been rated excellent under the Breeam (BRE Environmental Assessment Method) in the short term.
One in three of those surveyed (35 per cent) would pay five per cent more in rent for a greener building and a further 35 per cent would be prepared to pay an additional 15 per cent.
The Corporate Real Estate Matters study suggested that some firms are placing their sustainability agenda on hold during the financial downturn, but environmental policies will "return to the fore" once economic conditions improve.
A "significant proportion" of those polled said that they would be likely to take a environmentally-friendly building as their next premises.
In related news, a new £1 million project is being carried out by researchers at the University of Leeds that will assess how sustainable construction targets can be met.
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