CUBIC CoverDec08.indd - Colliers

From left: Shanghai Xintiandi,
Shui On Plaza
say about their occupants and investors. In a 2007 McKinsey Quarterly
survey of more than 2,100 global executives, 68 per cent felt climate
change was a “somewhat or very important factor” to consider when
managing corporate reputation and brands.
This means that a building is an important part of a responsible
corporation’s branding, explained Carter. “They can confirm to stakeholders
that a company uses high-performance facilities, is forward-thinking and
innovative, is concerned about the well-being of its employees, understands
changing sentiments in the market about sustainability and wants to make a
measured difference.”
In fact, a recent survey found that, out of 414 companies surveyed
globally, 12 per cent in Asia stated that they were willing to pay premiums of
over 10 per cent for sustainable buildings, compared with just 3 per cent of
the companies surveyed in North America and Europe.
Making sustainability a part of a company’s core principles also has other
benefits. For CDL, eco-friendly practices have raised the developer’s public
profile. Mr Kwek told BT: “Going green equates to value for home buyers,
and enhances our reputation and goodwill.” In terms of financial value, it
also helps – CDL is the only Singapore developer listed on the FTSE4Good
Index series.
And, in the search for talent, even buildings matter. “To an occupant,
green buildings provide healthier, comfortable and more productive work
environments that are soon recognised in markets as significantly more
desirable than non-green ones,” noted Carter. In Australia, for example,
employers are racing to offer these work environments in order to compete
for the best talent.
GREEN BUILDINGS
that try and ‘bolt on’ green features late in a development process or do
not invest in good expertise and experience to help them will often incur
additional costs.”
Given the force of the green wave, ignoring the environmental costs
now could mean losses in the future. For example, the demand for green
buildings in Australia has reached tipping point, so “green is now standard
for all new investment-grade office buildings,” Carter pointed out. “This
means that a non-green building being offered to the market will be less
attractive and most likely will be penalised rent-wise and subsequently in
terms of asset value.”
In addition, there is a premium placed on green buildings for what they
“The idea is to tie
sustainability to a solid
economic agenda,” said Nieh.
“In the end, we are a business
and need to be commercially
viable. We believe our model
is commercially viable and it
makes a lot of sense.”
David Nieh, General Manager of Business
Development (Yangpu District), Shui On Land
THE GREEN R.E.VOLUTION
Given Asia’s fresh entry into the sustainability game, practical challenges
do remain. According to Carter, “(Tenants) often like the general green
proposition, but may not be prepared to adjust their budgetary model to
accommodate spending extra”. This, he said, calls for a lot of education to
help tenants understand the real value proposition behind green buildings.
Support in the form of skills and materials, too, must be available to drive
the growth of green buildings. Engineers, designers and contractors must
have the knowledge and commitment to ensure sustainable practices across
the entire building process.
“Designers need to be able to model the performance of new systems
accurately, engineers need to know how to avoid construction waste and
building managers need to know how to carefully monitor the performance
of buildings to identify any inefficiencies,” said Carter. At the same time,
regulations must facilitate the growth of green buildings, such as allowing
for the collection and use of rainwater or the use of renewable energy.
To help drive and support the industry, Colliers has launched a green real
estate guide for the creation of sustainable built environments. Called r.e.Design,
the Green Real Estate Guide for Asia emphasises the need for such buildings so
that the industry can “r.e.design” its approach to real estate practices.
According to Carter, who penned the Green Real Estate Guide,
“r.e.Design is intended to assist owners, developers and occupiers design
strategies that manage the risks and leverage the opportunities associated
with the change in real estate.” This is because, ultimately, “the winners in
the emerging ‘carbon economy’ will typically be those who prepare early.”
Please contact a local Colliers Office if you would like a copy of r.e.Design.
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