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2008-12-15 00:00:00
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Corporate social responsibility toward the environment is increasingly determining a firms’ corporate strategy. Three years ago, the environmental agenda was regarded as important by some 30 percent firms leasing offices, but this figure is currently over 50 percent.
Within three years, the environmental agenda should be in the corporate culture of up to 70 percent of office lessees, according to research by Global Business Barometer, a quarterly business-confidence survey conducted by UK-based Economist Intelligence Unit. The research involved 1,192 top managers of global firms.
Another survey, released in November by research firm CoreNet Global and advisory Jones Lang LaSalle, showed that of more than 400 corporate real estate (CRE) executives surveyed globally, 69 percent said sustainability is a critical business issue for their real estate departments. When the same question was asked in 2007, only 47 percent said it was critical. But just 42 percent of CRE executives are still willing to pay a premium, usually 1 percent to 5 percent, to lease green space. Last year this was higher, at 77 percent. Still, this is up from 2005, when only 11 percent were willing to pay extra for a green office.
Property consultancy Cushman & Wakefield said at a press conference that the increasing emphasis on the environment is based on many factors. One of them is a more generalized awareness of CO2 emissions and climate changes, as well as a new generation joining in the work force. “Generation Y [born in the 1980s] is concerned with the state of the environment. … If firms are to attract promising young staff, they must adapt their corporate culture,” said Zdeněk Hausvater, a consultant from the Prague office of Cushman & Wakefield.
“These [international] trends are … likely to arrive in this country in a few years. The similarity with organic products invites comparison, as it was an almost unknown term only a few years ago. Customers took some time before they began to pay higher prices for quality and healthy products,” Hausvater added.
One positive factor is potential savings. “An important factor is also the economic side of green buildings. With the expected economic slowdown and cost cutting by firms, savings to be made in operating a rented space are becoming a topical subject. Although rents are usually slightly higher in green buildings, in the final analysis the tenant saves energy and office running costs,” said Pavel Skřivánek, a consultant at Cushman & Wakefield.
In service providers’ budgets the highest cost item is staff salaries.
According to surveys carried out by UK-based Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), annual costs of leasing and running offices account for approximately 10 percent of total operating costs of a firm; personnel costs may amount to 85 percent. This ratio mainly applies to larger corporations whose offices have at least 5,000 square meters.
According to U.S. studies, losses caused by bad ventilation in commercial buildings may add up to $840 (Kč 16,500) per employee per year. The main causes of these losses are sickness leading to a loss of productivity. One advantage of green buildings is more frequent air changes, resulting in lower sickness rates. Another principal benefit is lower operating costs due to lower power consumption.
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