An independent survey of more than 100 European property investors has revealed that the majority are in favour of certification schemes that recognise building sustainability.
Almost two-thirds confirmed their preferred scheme to be BREEAM, the standard which is rolled out through a network of European and scheme operators.
The findings of the survey by law firm DLA Piper have been published in a report called Towards a Greener Future, which was launched last week at MIPM 2014 in Cannes.
As sustainability becomes a key issue for occupiers and tenants it is also having a significant impact on investors, with market demand driving sustainable real estate to become seen as the best investment. Of those responding to the survey, 71% said they would be willing to incur higher investment costs for sustainable property or land.
An overwhelming 88% of respondents consider green certification to be important when developing or investing in new buildings. However, there is concern at the number of schemes that have been developed on national lines and then exported. Most investors want a single certification scheme that allows ‘level playing field’ comparisons and benchmarking.
Olaf Schmidt, co-head of DLA Piper’s Real Estate practice, said: "With clients active across Europe, we have witnessed the growth in interest in sustainable real estate across the continent. Our survey confirms that investors – particularly those involved with cross border transactions – would welcome a harmonisation of certification standards to facilitate further take up of sustainable practices and engender transparency of performance standards."
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