Two-thirds of occupiers in the Asia Pacific region are prepared to pay a premium for greener property.

Although actual adoption rates of sustainable property solutions across the region is low, a study conducted by Jones Lang LaSalle at an international meeting of more than 300 corporate real estate professionals at the CoreNet Global Asia Summit, indicates that sustainability as an issue for the commercial property sector is clearly on the rise.

Of those surveyed, 93% expressed a notable increase in awareness regarding sustainable buildings and 62% said that growth in associated environmental, economic and social awareness had been significant.

‘Occupiers are indicating that they are prepared to pay more for Green real estate and that it is important for their organizations to occupy sustainable buildings,’ said Justin Kean, associate director of occupier research at JLL. ‘However, although there is a green real estate premium, providers of corporate accommodation also need to realize that there is likely to be a discount applied to non-sustainable real estate in the future. Occupiers will pay more for sustainable real estate solutions and where possible avoid non-sustainable real estate solutions.’

The rising importance of sustainability was reinforced by the survey. Nearly half of the respondents said that sustainability was a critical issue for their organisations, with 42% indicating that environmental and social measures are already being embraced as part of their property considerations.