RealEstateRama   -   Site   -   in News   -   in Media   -   in Social   -   Web

BUILDING PERFORMANCE AND OCCUPIER SATISFACTION EXPECTED TO PRODUCE IMPROVED RETURN ON GREEN BUILDING INVESTMENTS

New Findings Unveiled From CB Richard Ellis Multi-Year Study with University of San Diego and McGraw-Hill Construction

Chicago, IL – November 18, 2010 – (RealEstateRama) — Sustainable buildings are expected to generate stronger investment returns than traditionally managed properties, according to an ongoing study of a national office portfolio managed by CB Richard Ellis. The study found that owners of sustainably managed buildings anticipate a 4% higher return on investment than do owners of traditionally managed buildings, as well as 5% [more] increase in building value. Roughly 79% of owners surveyed believe that sustainable properties perform well in attracting and retaining tenants, yielding a 5% increase in building occupancy and 1% increase in rental income.

This is the second phase of a multi-year study initiated in 2009 by CB Richard Ellis and the University of San Diego’s Burnham-Moores Center for Real Estate. This year, CBRE also collaborated with McGraw-Hill Construction to expand and publish the survey. The largest and longest running study of its kind, the ongoing analysis benchmarks and measures green building benefits and resulting economic outcomes as a framework of investment criteria for retrofit activity. The study’s initial findings were made public today at U.S. Green Building Council’s Greenbuild as part of McGraw-Hill’s The Business Benefits of Green Buildings: Building and Occupant Performance Driving Green Investment in Existing Commercial Buildings SmartMarket Report. A full update to the study’s 2009 report Do Green Buildings Make Dollars and Sense? is expected to be released later this year.

According to the study, tenants in sustainably managed buildings report increased productivity, satisfaction and health. Roughly 10% of tenant respondents have seen increased productivity, 94% of tenant managers registered higher employee satisfaction in green space and 83% of tenants believe their green space provides a healthier working environment.

The study defined a green building as those with LEED certification at any level or those that bear the EPA ENERGY STAR ® label. All of the ENERGY STAR ® buildings in the survey group had been awarded that label since 2008. Most of the buildings included in the research cohort had also adopted other sustainable practices like recycling, green cleaning and water conservation.

This report follows two industry-leading publications released by CB Richard Ellis earlier this month. Key members of the U.S. Sustainability team co-authored the USGBC’s Green Operations Guide: Integrating LEED into Property Management, a guide that enables building owners and managers to better understand LEED EB: O&M benefits, and provides practical tools for improving the sustainability of their portfolios. Additionally, CB Richard Ellis’ Law Firm Practice Group released a special report Law Firms Build a Case for Green: Recent Trends in Law Firm Sustainability Practices. The report highlights sustainability practices among U.S. and global law firms, including trend toward pursuing LEED certification, and considers costs versus yield of select sustainable strategies

CB Richard Ellis was recently ranked #30 among Newsweek’s greenest companies in America, and #1 among the financial services sector. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has named CB Richard Ellis an ENERGY STAR® Partner of the Year for the past three years, including recent recognition for Sustained Excellence. The U.S. Green Building Council has awarded CB Richard Ellis its Leadership Award for Organizational Excellence and the industry group, CoreNet, recognized CB Richard Ellis with a special commendation for Sustainable Leadership and Design Development.

About CB Richard Ellis
CB Richard Ellis Group, Inc. (NYSE:CBG), a Fortune 500 and S&P 500 company headquartered in Los Angeles, is the world’s largest commercial real estate services firm (in terms of 2009 revenue). The company has approximately 29,000 employees (excluding affiliates), and serves real estate owners, investors and occupiers through more than 300 offices (excluding affiliates) worldwide. CB Richard Ellis offers strategic advice and execution for property sales and leasing; corporate services; property, facilities and project management; mortgage banking; appraisal and valuation; development services; investment management; and research and consulting. Please visit our Web site at www.cbre.com.

About McGraw-Hill Construction
McGraw-Hill Construction connects people, projects and products across the construction industry. For more than a century, it has remained North America’s leading provider of project and product information, plans and specifications, and industry news, trends and forecasts. McGraw-Hill Construction serves more than one million customers in the $5.6 trillion global construction industry through Dodge, Sweets, Architectural Record, Engineering News-Record, GreenSource, and SNAP. To learn more, visit www.construction.com or follow @mhconstruction on Twitter.

About Burnham-Moores Center for Real Estate
Founded in 1993, the University of San Diego’s Burnham-Moores Center for Real Estate is committed to delivering outstanding education, industry outreach, career and research services to advance socially responsible leadership in the real estate profession. As part of the University’s School of Business Administration, the Center offers a Master of Science in Real Estate degree, an undergraduate minor in real estate, a Certificate in Real Estate Finance, Investments and Development, a Certificate in Land Use and Sustainable Community Development and several major industry conferences throughout the year. For more information, visit www.usdrealestate.com

Contact:
Robert McGrath
212.984.8267