Green Commercial Real Estate Helps Make Green For Retail

Green commercial real estate is a popular topic, but it’s more been associated with sectors like office, healthcare and industrial more often than retail. Today, investors and tenants are both realizing the value of green commercial real estate for retail.

National Real Estate Investor commented on the trend, “The retail sector in the United States is making progress when it comes to executing sustainable strategies. Global Real Estate Sustainability Benchmark’s (GRESB) data on REITs and private equity firms around the globe shows that retail property owners outperform other owners from a sustainability perspective.”

If we look at the office sector as an example, GRESB research shows that green office buildings trade at a 13 percent premium, on average, to non-green properties. They also have rental rates three percent higher than those of non-green commercial office space.

Knowing that LEED-certified and Energy Star-rated building will reduce operating costs, retail tenants are interested in going green. GRESB cited that the top 50 retailers are already implementing green strategies in their real estate holdings, and the trend is trickling down to smaller businesses.

National Real Estate Investor added, “Sustainability is relevant to all retail owners, not just those that are large and well-capitalized. In fact, smaller owners with less money might benefit from green strategies even more than larger owners with deep pockets.”

Reducing operational costs increases returns, but retail is also turning to green commercial real estate because of greater transparency on energy consumption reporting, social responsibility and pressure from investors to run more efficiently.

Our Retail Services Group can help you buy or lease commercial real estate with green building practices, or we can also assist with analyzing your current space and working toward more sustainable operations. Talk to us today.