I recently helped host 300 green buildings leaders in London and Dubai. These are quite different environments but the discussions were remarkably similar. Green buildings save energy and water and will help the world urbanize more sustainably. Another recurring theme may surprise you. Green buildings add economic value for three distinct stakeholders:
Investors. In my conversations with some pension fund managers, traditionally big real estate investors, they told me they would only invest in certified green buildings, otherwise they feared the investment would not hold its value. That’s a strong endorsement for building green. Let me explain. Real estate development projects require investors to get off the ground. Over the last five years, the Global Real Estate Sustainability Benchmark (GRESB) reports that $7.6 trillion of institutional investment funds - like pension funds - have backed green building development. In many ways, it is the invisible hand moving the market.