Sustainable North American buildings outperform non-certified peers.
Office facilities that undergo green certification such as LEED, BOMA BEST, or ENERGY STAR outperform similar non-certified buildings in terms of rental rates, occupancy levels, tenant satisfaction, and probability of lease renewals.
New research, published in the Journal of Portfolio Management, examined ten years of financial data across a 58-million-square-foot office portfolio covering almost 300 buildings in the U.S. and Canada and found that net effective rents were an average of 3.7% higher in U.S. LEED certified buildings than in comparable properties. Energy consumption per square foot was 14% lower in U.S. LEED certified buildings than in facilities without the designation.
Additionally, the study found that Canadian LEED and BOMA BEST facilities averaged 4% lower rent concessions than peers, as well as 9.5% higher occupancy rates in U.S. ENERGY STAR buildings than similar non-certified facilities. Building occupants were also more satisfied in certified properties, with tenant renewal rates 5.6% higher and tenant satisfaction scores coming in at 7% higher in certified vs. non-certified properties.
