This article is from the Australian Property Journal archive
MORE industrial tenants are willing to pay a premium for environmentally sustainable buildings, according to Jones Lang LaSalle.
According to JLL’s whitepaper, Sustainable Industrial Property – “Greener Pastures, 49% of industrial occupiers are willing to pay an additional premium on operating costs of up to 10% in order to occupy a sustainable building in the long term.
JLL’s national head of industrial services Jeff Pond said typical considerations on sustainability elements for occupiers include environmental impact from building operations, noise pollution, energy consumption, efficiency of lighting and air conditioning, choice of building fabrics material and system, source of drinking water, hazardous gas or chemical emissions and the history of site usage.
“Although the demand for higher levels of environmental compliance may initially appear a threat to owners of industrial property, sustainable buildings do not necessarily represent a loss in building utility or level of profit.
“Rather, modern sustainable technologies present the potential to raise environmental efficiencies while simultaneously bringing real economic gains – most importantly, as an incentive to attract new occupiers and/or precommittments to any new development,” he added.
Pond said experience shows that it is the occupier market that drives demand for sustainable services rather than the developer market.
He added that the issue will become increasingly significant over the next three years given that the industrial sector in Australia generates around 26 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions each year, and that these figures are conservatively estimated to double by 2010.
“Though admittedly developments in the industrial sector are only at a fledgling stage, there is increased scrutiny by the industry on implementing ESD principles in industrial accommodation by owners, developers and occupiers.
“Almost half (45%) of the 65 respondents to the survey, for example, indicated that their organisations consider ESD features and green rating a factor in locating a new premises,” he concluded.
Australian Property Journal
