November 14, 2024

Green building certifications have been around for decades but as corporate focus continues to grow, newer specialist schemes are making their debut and established ones are moving into new areas.

With many companies now actively seeking to reduce their carbon footprint and make buildings healthier for occupants, certifications from the well-known UK-developed BREEAM, US-led LEED or Australia-born Green Star to more niche schemes such as AirRated, are in high demand. .

“Certification schemes assess projects from design and construction to renovation and adaptation, and then there is certification of assets in operation,” explained Patrick Staunton, Ratings and Certificates Lead at JLL UK.

The 2022 GRESB Real Estate Reference Guide lists around 90 design and/or construction schemes and an additional 90-odd operational green building certification schemes.

They have come a long way from the 1990s when they were more akin to traditional risk assessments, focusing on issues such as soil contamination, pollution and flood risk.

Nowadays, many older certification bodies are adapting to the decarbonization challenges facing the real estate industry. The Canada Green Building Council’s Zero Carbon Building Standard was the first to launch a certification that addresses both operational and indoor carbon in 2018 with LEED Zero Carbon, NABERS Climate Active Carbon and Design for Performance following suit .

Others, such as NABERS, include annual assessments to measure the ongoing performance of buildings rather than the initial design. Additionally, newer designs tend to be more issue focused such as energy efficiency or air quality.

The value of green certification

For many building owners, green certification is an external validation of their commitment to the environmental credentials of their properties or the health and well-being of their tenants.

And with a growing number of corporate tenants wanting to demonstrate the buildings they occupy are in line not only with their net zero and broader sustainability goals, but also with the high expectations of their employees, certifications justifying the higher price tag.

Dalton and Fuerst’s meta-analysis of 42 studies between 2008 and 2016 showed that green building certifications provided rents of 6% and a sales premium of 7.6%. Other research has found that WELL or Fitwel-certified spaces – which both focus on health and wellness– can attract effective rents 4.4% to 7% higher per square foot than nearby, non-certified ones. and unregistered peers.

“From a value perspective, there is no doubt that buildings with various market-leading certifications are better than buildings without,” says Kirsty Draper, Head of Sustainability at JLL’s UK Agency, although she acknowledges that this difference varies between markets.

Depending on the location, green certifications can also enable developers and owners to streamline the compliance process, open up tax incentives and financing opportunities, and improve the rate of financing. occupy.

A rapidly developing field

The sheer number of green certifications and the different areas they cover, however, cause issues. Many companies struggle to understand what different certifications mean, Draper said.

“People in the market can equate a good BREEAM rating or an energy performance certificate [EPC] rating, which has a good measure of the building’s performance. But BREEAM New Construction or RFO doesn’t look at operational performance, nor does EPC, so we’re seeing a move towards schemes like NABERS doing,” he said.

In the era of environmental, social and governance (ESG) targets, there is also the danger of focusing only on ‘E’ and overlooking ‘S’ or ‘G’.

Thus, it can be challenging for developers and occupiers to identify which combination of standards, certifications and rating programs will work best for a particular project.

“When choosing certifications, it’s not about numbers, it’s about relevance,” said Draper. “Developers and investors need to consider the asset class and the local market and ask whether this will make the building more attractive to an occupant or buyer. They need to align certifications to work together each other while avoiding duplication.”

And while getting certified can still provide financial benefits, the process itself can be very expensive. Certification procedures are often inconsistent, which can be especially challenging when working across geographies.

The future of green certification

As performance-focused designs become more popular, continuous access to good data is essential. “Buildings equipped with real-time sensor technologies that measure everything from temperature to employee engagement are better placed to report their true impact on the environment and people,” Staunton said.

China-made RESET, for example, started by using sensors to monitor indoor air quality, but now uses them to measure factors such as energy, materials and water to show overall performance. .

This focus on ongoing assessment will define future plans as pressure to improve real estate transparency through accurate reporting will grow, Staunton predicted. “If certifications continue to signal the best-in-class buildings, they need to measure their green, health and productivity impact on demand.”

While he believes that the consolidation of different certification schemes is not possible, there are new schemes that look at other areas such as the human part and the maintenance management. More niche issues such as accessibility and inclusive design are also coming to the fore.

Upcoming legislation will both drive changes and make sustainable real estate more common. “However, there is always a desire for some kind of certification for owners and developers to differentiate their properties,” Staunton concluded.

About JLL

JLL (NYSE: JLL) is a leading professional services firm specializing in real estate and investment management. JLL is shaping the future of real estate for a better world by using the most advanced technology to create rewarding opportunities, stunning spaces and sustainable real estate solutions for our clients, our people and our community. JLL is a Fortune 500 company with annual revenues of $19.4 billion, operations in more than 80 countries and a global workforce of more than 100,000 as of March 31, 2022. JLL is the brand name, and is a registered trademark, of Jones Lang LaSalle Incorporated. For more information, visit jll.com.

See the source

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *