Companies Reluctant to Pay a Higher Price for Greener Offices

Posted by Granite Building Warranties Ltd on 26th April 2022 -

According to a recent occupiers’ survey conducted by YouGov and Irwin Mitchell, businesses are less keen to invest money in increasing the green credentials of their offices. They are looking more to changing habits within the workplace to offset their carbon footprint.

Larger businesses are the most likely to invest in ways to reduce their environmental footprint; including paying more for a greener office space (15%), having a sustainability team (36%) and investing in Property Technology (30%). A further 29% said they would accept increased rent if there was a financial incentive to do so, such as reducing service charge or energy costs.

The smaller businesses, however, feel that adopting greener practices is costly at a time when they are looking to save money.

Changing habits seem the most popular way of reducing the environmental impact of the office. Turning off lighting, heating and electric when offices are unused is the most popular option.

It appears to be the belief that small changes from employees across the company can have a big impact on environmental issues. This is a more favoured approached than investing money into future technologies.

According to Larry Fink of Blackrock, however, ignoring the green agenda is a perilous decision that will leave behind the companies that don’t adapt: “Decarbonising of the global economy is going to create the greatest investment opportunity… accompanied by enormous job creation for those that engage in the necessary long-term planning.”

Overall, however, it would seem that green decisions are still being driven by financial considerations for the majority of companies.

 

Source: https://irwinmitchell.turtl.co/story/occupiers-survey-2022/page/7/2