Holistic approach to the sustainable commercial property business: analysis of the main existing sustainability certifications
Abstract
Sustainability is no longer a new concept. However, applying, measuring and reporting on the sustainability initiative is still a somewhat confused and subjective issue. There is a huge variety of sustainability guidelines and green building schemes of differing natures, meanings and wordings. Despite this, there is no one guideline providing a crossreference between corporate social responsibility and green building performance to help the commercial property market completely incorporate sustainability into their activities. Therefore, this paper intends to link sustainability, real estate environmental, social, and governance (ESG) and sustainable building in order to help companies internalise this concept in all areas of their operations aligning it with their strategic planning. From desk-based research, this proposal examines and compares key aspects of the main schemes in existence, which are currently evolving in the definition, assessment and report of sustainability at the corporate and built environment level. This approach provides key information to help professionals get a better understanding of the specific changes which sustainability brings about in their corporate process, strategies, investment decisions, daily business operations as well as their property management. The insights presented here can support real estate companies to develop comprehensive communication flows and tools for the measurement and disclosure of sustainability data.
First published online 24 March 2020
Keyword : sustainable development, real estate, green building certification, corporate social responsibility, commercial property, decision support model
How to Cite
Vieira de Castro, A., Ramírez Pacheco, G. ., & Neila González, F. J. . (2020). Holistic approach to the sustainable commercial property business: analysis of the main existing sustainability certifications. International Journal of Strategic Property Management, 24(4), 251-268. https://doi.org/10.3846/ijspm.2020.12174
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
References
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Shan, M., & Hwang, B. (2018). Green building rating systems: global reviews of practices and research efforts. Sustainable Cities and Society, 39, 172−180. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scs.2018.02.034
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Vierra, S. (2011). Green building standards and certification systems. Steven Winter Associates, Inc, Washington D.C.
Warren-Myers, G. (2012). Sustainable management of real estate: is it really sustainability? Journal of Sustainable Real Estate, 4(1), 177−197.
Benani, R., Vahdati, M., & Elmualim, A. (2013). Demonstrating the importance of criteria and sub-criteria in building assessment methods. WIT Transactions on Ecology and the Environment, 173, 443−454. https://doi.org/10.2495/SDP130371
Berardi, U. (2012). Sustainability assessment in the construction sector: rating systems and rated buildings. Sustainable Development, 20, 411−424. https://doi.org/10.1002/sd.532
Bernet, J. R., Sayce, S., Vermeulen, M., & Ledl, C. (2010). Winning in the long run? A quantified approach to the drivers of sustainable financial value on real estate (Working paper 2, 25-07-2010, V5). https://eprints.kingston.ac.uk/18125/1/Sayce-S-18125.pdf
BREEAM. (2018). BREEAM new constructions 2018 – technical manual. BRE Global Ltd. https://www.breeam.com/NC2018/
CASBEE. (2011). CASBEE for new construction. Comprehensive assessment system for built environment efficiency. http://www.ibec.or.jp/CASBEE/english/overviewE.htm
Cox, M., Brown, M. A., & Sun, X. (2013). Energy benchmarking of commercial buildings: a low-cost pathway toward urban sustainability. Environmental Research Letters, 8(3), 1−12. https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/8/3/035018
Cuadrado-Ballesteros, B., Martínez-Ferrero, J., & GarcíaSánchez, I. M. (2017). Mitigating information asymmetry through sustainability assurance: the role of accountants and levels of assurance. International Business Review, 26(6), 1141−1156. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ibusrev.2017.04.009
Deloitte. (2014). Breakthrough for sustainability in commercial real estate. Delloite development Center LCC. https://deloitte.wsj.com/cfo/files/2014/11/sustainable_real_estate.pdf
DGNB. (2018). The DNGB system: global benchmark for sustainability. https://www.dgnb-system.de/en/index.php
Díaz-Lopez, C., Carpio, M., Martín-Moralez, M., & Zamorano, M. (2019). Analysis of the scientific evolution of sustainable building assessment methods. Sustainable Cities and Society, 49, 101610. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scs.2019.101610
Dixon, T., Colantonio, A., Shiers, D., Reed, R., Wilkinson, S., & Gallimore, P. (2008). A green profession? A global survey of RICS members and their engagement with the sustainability agenda. Journal of Property Investment and Finance, 26(6), 460−481. https://doi.org/10.1108/14635780810908352
Doan, D. T., Ghaffarianhoseini, A., Naismith, N., Zhang, T., Ghaffarianhoseini, A., & Tookey, J. (2017). A critical comparison of green building rating systems. Building and Environment, 123, 243−260. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.buildenv.2017.07.007
Eichholtz, P., Kok, N., & Quigley, J. M. (2010). Doing well by doing good? Green office buildings. The American Economic Review, 100(5), 2492−2509. https://doi.org/10.1257/aer.100.5.2492
Fuerst, F., Rottke, N., Zietz, J., & Reichardt, A. (2012). Sustainable building certification and the rent premium: a panel data approach. Journal of Real Estate Research, 34(1), 99−126.
GRESB. (2018). Global Real Estate Sustainability Benchmark (GRESB), Developer reference guide 2018. https://gresb.com/gresb-developer-assessment/
GRI. (2018). GRI Standards. Amsterdam, The Netherlands. https://www.globalreporting.org/standards/gri-standardsdownload-center/
Hemphill, T. (2013). The ISO 26000 guidance on social responsibility international standard: what are the business governance implications? Corporate Governance, 13(3), 305−317. https://doi.org/10.1108/CG-08-2011-0062
Hewlett, C. A. (1999). Strategic planning for real estate companies. Journal of Property Management, 64(1), 26−29.
Ho, D., Chau, K., Leung, H., Wong, S., Cheung, A., Yau, Y., Lau, S., & Wong, W. (2005, September 27−29). A sustainable framework of building quality assessment for achieving a sustainable urban environment. Paper presented at the 2005 World Sustainable Building Conference, Tokyo (SB05Tokyo).
HQE. (2018). HQE Cerway brochure. Haute Qualité Environmentale. https://www.behqe.com/schemes-and-documents
ISO. (2008). Sustainability in building construction − General principles (ISO 15392:2008). https://www.iso.org/standard/40432.html
ISO. (2010). Guidance on social responsibility (ISO 26000:2010). https://www.iso.org/standard/42546.html
ISO. (2011). Sustainability in building construction – Sustainability indicators – Part 1: Framework for the development of indicators for buildings (ISO TS 21929-1:2011). https://www.iso.org/standard/46599.html
ISO. (2017). ISO 26000 and OECD guidelines – Practical overview of the linkages. Vernier, Geneva, Switzerland. https://www.iso.org/files/live/sites/isoorg/files/store/en/PUB100418.pdf
Kerzner, H. (2001). Strategic planning for project management using a project management maturity model. Wiley.
LEED. (2018). LEED v4 BD+C rating system. https://www.usgbc.org/resources/leed-v4-building-design-and-construction-current-version
Lorenz, D. (2006). The application of the sustainable development principles to the theory and practice of property valuation (Vol. 1 of Karlsruher Schriften zur Bau-, Wohnungs- und Immobilienwirtschaft). Universitat Verlag Karlsruhe.
Mahmoud, S., Zayedb, T., & Fahmyc, M. (2019). Development of sustainability assessment tool for existing buildings. Sustainable Cities and Society, 44, 99−119. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scs.2018.09.024
Morris, P., & Jamieson, A. (2004). Translating corporate strategy into project strategy. Project Management Institute.
Morris, P., & Jamieson, A. (2005). Moving from corporate strategy to project strategy. Project Management Journal, 36(4), 5−18. https://doi.org/10.1177/875697280503600402
OECD. (2011). OECD guidelines for multinational enterprises. OECD Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1787/9789264115415-en
Porter, M. E., & Kramer, M. R. (2006). Strategy & society: the link between competitive advantage and corporate social responsibility. Harvard Business Review, 84, 78−85.
Rapson, D., Shiers, D., Roberts, R., & Keeping, M. (2007). Socially responsible property investment (SRPI) an analysis of the relationship between SRI and UK property investment activities. Journal of Property Investment & Finance, 25(4), 342−358. https://doi.org/10.1108/14635780710762490
Reed, R. G., Bilos, A., Wilkinson, S., & Schulte, K. W. (2009). International comparison of sustainable rating tools. Journal of Sustainable Real Estate, 1(1), 1−22.
Reed, R. G., & Wilkinson, S. J. (2005). The increasing importance of sustainability for building ownership. Journal of Corporate Real Estate, 7(4), 339−350. https://doi.org/10.1108/14630010510700831
RICS. (2013). RICS professional guidance, global sustainability and commercial property valuation. Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), London, United Kingdom. https://www.rics.org/globalassets/rics-website/media/upholding-professional-standards/sector-standards/valuation/sustainability-and-commercial-property-valuation-2nd-edition-rics.pdf
RICS. (2015). Advancing responsible business practices in land, construction and real estate use and investment. Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), London, United Kingdom. https://www.rics.org/globalassets/rics-website/media/about/responsible-business-report-exec-summary-rics-ungc.pdf
S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC. (2019). Talking points − adding ESG transparency to real estate. https://www.spglobal.com/_assets/documents/corporate/education-talking-points-adding-esg-transparency-to-real-estate-2-.pdf
Shan, M., & Hwang, B. (2018). Green building rating systems: global reviews of practices and research efforts. Sustainable Cities and Society, 39, 172−180. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scs.2018.02.034
UNEP FI. (2014). Sustainability metrics – translation and impact on property investment and management. International Environment House Chemin des Anémones, Genève Switzerland. https://www.unepfi.org/fileadmin/documents/UNEPFI_SustainabilityMetrics_Web.pdf
UNGC. (2010). An introduction to linkages between UN global compact principles and ISO 26000 core subjects. UN Global Compact Office, New York. https://www.unglobalcompact.org/library/236
UNGC. (2014). Guide to corporate sustainability - shaping a sustainable future. Two United Nations Plaza New York, US. https://www.unglobalcompact.org/library/1151
Vieira de Castro, A., Neila González, F., & Ramírez Pacheco, G. (2014, July). Greenfield shopping centre development. The integration between environmental features, building design and investment analysis at the decision-making stage. Paper presented at the 21st Annual European Real Estate Society Conference, Bucharest, Romania.
Vierra, S. (2011). Green building standards and certification systems. Steven Winter Associates, Inc, Washington D.C.
Warren-Myers, G. (2012). Sustainable management of real estate: is it really sustainability? Journal of Sustainable Real Estate, 4(1), 177−197.