Back     Latest news from Green Building Press    Subscribe to our newsletter

Firms Will Pay More For Green Offices

Posted: 10/08/2006

The Springboard Business Centre in Stokesley, Yorkshire, is one of the first 'eco-offices' to be built in the North-east of England. Its award winning design is the result of a competition run by the Royal Institute of British Architects, which saw architects from as far away as Australia and America compete to design it.

The recently finished centre, designed by architects McDowell and Benedetti, includes environmentally-friendly features such as rainwater recycling, temperature-sensitive windows and extensive use of natural light and heat and soundproofing. The development at Stokesley Industrial Estate has won several awards for its eco-design, including the RIBA White Rose Award for Sustainability, the Journal Landmark environmental award and the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors Pro Yorkshire award for design and innovation.

Springboard is already running at 100% occupancy - and even has a waiting list. There are 16 businesses taking 20 available suites, including companies who have moved there from outside the region. People like working at the Centre as communication is excellent thanks to the wide communal spaces, and even though the building doesn't have air conditioning it has remained comfortably cool throughout the heatwave.

It seems businesses are keen to rent such premises and are even prepared to pay extra for "green" offices, according to research by the Confederation of British Industry and property consultants GVA Grimley.

More than 75% of respondents to a recent survey said they were willing to pay more to occupy premises that were environmentally friendly. Nearly 60% said they were happy to pay "marginally more" and 18% "moderately more" in the form of higher service charges or rents.

As many as two-thirds of occupiers see energy efficiency as very important when looking at their property needs for the next five years, with 91% concerned at the possible future increases in energy prices. Companies also rate occupying water-efficient buildings as an important influence on their future choice of property.

However, there is a limit to the amount businesses are willing to spend. Not a single respondent was prepared to pay "significantly" more to occupy an environmentally- friendly building.

The survey also showed that firms recognised other benefits of occupying greener property, such as raising staff satisfaction and improving company image. Corporate responsibility objectives and the positioning of businesses as progressive and modern were seen as only marginally less important than other benefits. It seems firms in the finance and business service sector in particular placed a high level of importance on the corporate benefits of greener buildings.

Green Building Press  
 

Back     Latest news from Green Building Press    Subscribe to our newsletter

1534