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The built environment is a major source of carbon emissions. However, 80 per cent of the damage arises through the operational phase of a building’s life. Office buildings are the most significant building type in terms of emission-reduction potential. Yet, little research has been undertaken to examine the barriers faced by building operators in transitioning to a green operation of the office buildings in their care. This study aims to identify those barriers.

Building facilities managers with between 7 and 25 years’ experience in operating primarily Melbourne high-rise office buildings were interviewed. The sample was taken from LinkedIn connections, with ten agreeing to participate in semi-structured interviews – out of the 17 invitations sent out. Interview comments were recorded, coded and categorised to identify the barriers sought by this study.

Seven categories of barriers to effecting green operation of office buildings were extracted. These were financial, owner-related, tenant-related, technological, regulatory, architectural and stakeholder interest conflicts. Difficulties identifying green operation strategies that improved cost performance or return on investment of buildings was the major barrier.

Government, policymakers and facilities managers themselves have been struggling with how to catalyse a green transition in the operation of office buildings. By identifying the barriers standing in the way, this study provides a concrete point of departure from which remedial strategies and policies may be formulated and put into effect.

The uptake of green operation of office buildings has been extremely slow. Though barriers have been hypothesised in earlier works, this is the first study, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, that categorically identifies and tabulates the barriers that stand in the way of improving the green operational performance of office buildings, drawing on the direct knowledge of facilities experts.

Green building construction was adopted as a strategy to reduce energy consumption and the overall impact of the built environment on our natural environment. However, in Malaysia, previous studies have reaffirmed that green office buildings consume a substantial amount of energy, compared to their counterparts in Singapore. Moreover, there is still a significant performance gap between predicted energy measurements and actual operational energy consumption of green office buildings in Malaysia, due to occupants’ behavioural discrepancies. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to develop energy efficiency practices for occupants of green office buildings in Malaysia. The developed practices integrate technology, organisation policy, and occupants’ behavioural strategies, in order to reduce the energy consumption of green office buildings in Malaysia.

To achieve the research goal, a mixed (quantitative and qualitative) research method was used to collect data from the research population. In total, 53 respondents working in a green office building complex in Kuala Lumpur Malaysia were surveyed using a questionnaire. Additionally, three top management staff of the green office building and two Malaysian construction professionals were interviewed. The study adopted convenience sampling technique in selecting the research respondents. The data from the questionnaire were analysed using SPSS software (version 22) while the interview data were analysed via thematic content analysis.

The findings suggest that the integration of technological strategy (use of BIM tools, sustainable building materials, etc.); organisational strategy (develop, implement and evaluate action plans, use of monitor/control systems, etc.); and occupants behavioural strategy (training, incentives, occupants energy efficiency guide, etc.) will critically reduce energy consumption of green office buildings in Malaysia.

Based on the findings, energy efficiency practices are developed to guide occupants in reducing the energy consumption of green office buildings in Malaysia. This strategy will contribute to reducing the performance gap that exists between predicted energy and actual energy use of green office buildings in Malaysia. However, the developed energy efficiency practices need to be validated to ascertain its workability in the green office building context.

Green office buildings have recently taken on increased significance in institutional property portfolios in Australia and globally. The key issue from an institutional investor perspective is the assessment of whether green office buildings add value. Using an extensive portfolio of green office buildings, the purpose of this paper is to empirically assess the level of energy rating premiums in the property performance of green office buildings in Australia.

Using a portfolio of over 200 green office buildings in Australia benchmarked against a comparable portfolio of non-green office buildings, the level of energy rating premiums in the property performance of green office buildings in Australia is empirically evaluated. Hedonic regression analysis is used to account for differences between specific office buildings and to explicitly identify the “pure” green effect in identifying the level of energy rating premiums in several commercial property performance characteristics (e.g. office value, rent).

The empirical results show the added-value premium of the 5-star National Australian Built Environment Rating Scheme (NABERS) energy rating scheme and the Green Star scheme in the property performance of green office buildings in Australia, including office values and rents. Energy rating premiums for green office buildings are evident at the top energy ratings and energy rating discounts at the lower energy ratings. The added-value “top-end” premium of the 5-star vs 4-star NABERS energy rating category is clearly identified for the various property performance parameters, including office values and rents.

This paper empirically determines the presence of energy rating premiums at the top energy ratings in the performance of green office buildings, as well as energy rating discounts at the lower energy ratings. This clearly highlights the added value dimension of energy efficiency in green office buildings and the need for the major office property investors to prioritise the highest energy rating to facilitate additional property performance premiums. This will also see green office buildings become the norm as the market benchmark rather than non-green office buildings.

This paper highlights energy performance premiums for green office buildings. This fits into the context of sustainability in the property industry and the broader aspects of corporate social responsibility in the property industry.

This paper is the first published property research analysis on the detailed determination of energy rating premiums across the energy rating spectrum for green office buildings in Australia. Given the increased focus on energy efficiency and green office buildings, this research enables empirically validated and practical property investment decisions by office property investors regarding the importance of energy efficiency and green office buildings, and the priority to achieve the highest energy rating to maximise property performance premiums in office values and rents.

Green building development practices reduce carbon footprint and promote sustainability in the built environment. To foster green building construction in Malaysia, several strategies and sustainability metrics like the Malaysian Carbon Reduction and Environmental Sustainability Tool (MyCREST) have been established. Yet, the implementation of green office building development in Sarawak still remains low. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to develop MyCREST Embedded Framework (MEF) for enhancing the adoption of green office building construction in Sarawak.

To achieve the research aim, document analysis of the overarching MyCREST Reference Guide was conducted. Then, questionnaire was used to survey 120 green construction professionals in Kuching, the capital of Sarawak. Afterwards, data from the questionnaire was analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Science software version 22. As a result, the significant strategies for enhancing the adoption of green office building construction in Sarawak were identified, and ranked hierarchically using the Relative Importance Index.

The established significant strategies include: government policies and incentives, sustainable technological practices, defined process for executing green building projects and adequate information for the public. Moreover, this study recommends MyCREST as the suitable Green Building Assessment Tool for developing green office buildings in Sarawak due to its integration of carbon reduction strategies with sustainability indicators.

This study is limited to Kuching; hence future study should be extended to other cities in Sarawak.

Based on the findings, the MEF is developed to enlighten the industry practitioners on the approaches that will elevate green office building development in Sarawak.

This paper aims to examine the concept and practice of green building for office interiors: whether the green intent can be effectively implemented in an interior retrofitting project.

Reviewing green building rating systems for interiors, examining certified interior projects and interviewing occupants working in certified green offices.

The green building credits for interiors fall into three relational layers: the urban context, the host building and interior fit-outs. Most projects under study performed well on credits for interior fit-outs (e.g. low emitting materials, energy efficient equipment and appliances, etc.), while underperformed on credits for its host building (e.g. air-conditioning systems, ventilation, etc.). The latter might more significantly affect working experience. The other important green aspects, such as daylight availability, facilities accessibility, might be subject to its location and urban context.

This article presents a multi-examination of green interiors. The data came from second-hand Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design scorecards and qualitative interviews. More quantitative surveys are expected to be conducted.

Green interior retrofitting should go beyond selecting environmental-friendly finishes and furniture or resource-efficient fixtures and appliances. It should proactively start from assessing the environmental performance of the host building and its urban context.

Most research looked at green building as a whole. Green interiors are actually more practical for tenants who intend to reduce their corporate environmental impacts, whereas they do not have control over whole building design and operations. This article highlights the importance of green interior retrofitting and provides guidance.

With the impending development of green buildings in Kuala Lumpur, the capital city of Malaysia, managing the criteria within the requirements of the rating tool’s certification shall be the responsibility of the respective parties when these buildings are in operations. In tenanted buildings, a lease agreement spells out the responsibilities of the owner/landlord and the tenants. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

The main aim of this study is to gauge the implementation of green lease among office buildings in Kuala Lumpur. This is made through an initial review of the adoption of green building criteria as well as the determination of the drivers and barriers perceived by office building managers in implementing green lease.

A survey amongst the managers of top grade office buildings in Kuala Lumpur revealed that the majority practiced some of the green criteria outlined in the Green Building Index. It also revealed that the most significant green lease terms commonly acknowledged by the respondents were energy and water-saving consumption as well as recycled material usage.

Through the identification of the barriers to implement green lease, the most significant barriers identified were related to cost and financing. Having identified these obstacles, appropriate action can be taken to bring forward green lease awareness amongst the various stakeholders in the office building sector in ensuring the successful operation of green buildings.

The purpose of the study presented in this paper is to determine the relationship and effect of built environment on occupants’ productivity in green-certified office buildings in Sri Lanka.

Two research hypotheses were tested by approaching the survey method under the quantitative phenomenon. The questionnaire survey was conducted among randomly selected occupants in three selected green-rated office buildings in Sri Lanka. The survey data were analysed by using the Spearman correlation and ordinal logistic regression analysis techniques to model the relationship existing between the variables. The SPSS v20 software was used in data analysis.

The findings confirm the relationship between built environment and occupants’ productivity. As it further proves that, there is a significant effect of built environment on occupants’ productivity in green-certified office buildings. Thus, critical built environment factors influencing occupants’ productivity and their effect were determined.

The findings could be practically implied as bases to strengthen the evaluation criteria of indoor environmental quality in GREENSL^® national green-rating system.

The evaluation of occupants’ productivity and the built environment factors has been at the focal point of research; however, most studies have focused on single aspects of the built environment. Further, no evidences were found on “which factors” can critically influence the occupants’ productivity in green buildings. The paper, therefore, seeks to fill this gap by proving the relationship between green built environment and occupants’ productivity.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the experience of the UK office market in embracing green buildings. The empirical analysis considers the spatial pattern and growth of green buildings in cities since 1990. It examines the perceived industry wisdom that the establishment of a green premium for occupation is the key to greening the office stock.

The paper begins by looking at the concept of a green office and then examines the evolving attitudes towards these offices and the issues for local market dynamics. The empirical analysis examines the current spatial pattern of green office buildings in the UK and then their impact on city office markets, where there is a major concentration. The latter part of the paper examines the growth of green offices since 1990. It begins with national trends and then examines the evolution of green development in individual cities.

The initial adoption of green offices was slow. There has been a dramatic rise in green offices at the peak of the past decade’s development boom and in the immediate years that followed. Market acceptance of the importance of greenness appears still to be in the melting pot with limited market transactions since 2008. Green offices represent only 2.7 per cent of office buildings and 12 per cent of total space in the market. Most green offices are in the principal cities with the largest concentration in London. London represents the only potential locality where a green market could have been established so far.

The paper provides an empirical assessment of the growth of green offices in the UK.

This is the first paper to consider the development and scale of green offices in the context of local markets. It challenges the perceived wisdom that a green premium is central to the green transformation to date.

The purpose of this paper is to exam the financial impact on the owner/lessor who is considering a partial energy upgrade to an existing medical office building. The owner who leases the building using a triple net lease does the upgrade prior to leasing the building, with the expectation of earning higher rents. How much should the owner who leases the property spend for a given rent per square foot increase?

The empirical study highlights the impact of key financial variables on the dependent variable medical office construction spending put in place in the USA. The independent variables prime interest rate, cost of natural gas per therm and electricity cost per KWH, resale building prices are significant variables when predicting medical office construction spending. A case study using a cost-benefit model is developed. It inputs corporate income tax rates, incorporates a debt service coverage ratio, prime interest rate, analyzes investment tax credit (ITC) and rebate scenarios and varies the level of rental income and energy savings. The case study results provide insight into which factors are enabling higher net construction spending when considering a green energy retrofit project. Both the regression model and the case study model focussed on the owner of a building who rents medical office space to tenants using a triple net lease. The owner/lessor paradigm analyzes revenue enhancements, the tax implications of having these savings and benefits associated with borrowing when financing the green retrofit. The availability of low cost borrowing, increases in the ITC percent and rebates and increases in rent per square foot have an impact on potential energy upgrade spending.

The empirical model finds the independent variables to be significant. Utility cost, resale value of office buildings, the prime interest rate, business bankruptcy court filings and unemployment rate fluctuations adequately explain movements in medical office building spending for the years 2000 through 2015 yielding a R2 of 73.8 percent. The feasibility case study indicates that the energy saving levels and ITCs not income tax rates are the primary drivers for a partial energy retrofit.

Market incentives are a function of the cost of energy. If the cost of energy drops, then the profit incentive to conserve energy becomes less important. The role of tax credits, rebates, property tax reductions and government directives, then become primary incentives for installing energy upgrades. The owner of an empty building assumes all of the operating costs normally paid by a tenant under a triple net lease. This possibility was not included in the replacement cost-benefit model used in this paper.

The feasibility of doing an energy upgrade to an existing building requires that a cost-benefit analysis be undertaken. The independent variables that are significant when doing a regression model or proxies for these variables are incorporated into a present value model. The results in Table V can be used as an initial template for determining how much to spend per square foot when doing an energy upgrade. The square foot amounts can be applied to different size office buildings. The corporate income tax rate or a personal income tax rate has minimal impact on energy construction upgrade spending.

More energy efficient office buildings reduce the amount of greenhouse gases released into the atmosphere. Energy efficient buildings also conserve on scarce fuel reserves. ITCs and rebates limit the role of government in directing decisions to do energy upgrades. The market mechanism to some degree can help encourage energy conservation through asset upgrades.

The paper incorporates an empirical model which is a form of technical analysis to examine independent variables that explain medical office building spending with a case study structured on expected revenues and costs which takes a fundamental approach to understanding the relationship between the dependent variable and its independent variables. The regression model combines factors that impact the demand for energy efficient medical buildings from an owner/lessor perspective which includes resale values of existing buildings, business bankruptcy filings and unemployment rates. Supply independent variables include the prime interest rate and electricity per KWH and natural gas per therm. The regression model found these variables to be significant. The case study uses the same independent variables or close proxy variables to determine the maximum financially feasible per square foot spending that can be invested in energy upgrades.

This paper aims to investigate green buildings and individual productivity, specifically within the context of indoor environmental quality (IEQ) within green certified office buildings. The purpose of the research was to determine how self-assessed productivity levels were influenced by the indoor environment of the office building.

Qualitative data analysis was conducted via semi-structured interviews in two financial services companies (FSCs), both based in green certified office buildings in South Africa. Thematic analysis was conducted to extract common themes from the data. Furthermore, the data were compared to previous research to identify new potential pathways or provide support for existing pathways.

The main findings were that physical components, such as temperature, lighting, ventilation and noise, contribute depending on the respondent to individual productivity, engagement, organisational commitment and psychological wellbeing. Safety, underpinned by location and amenities, was a new component not previously considered that subtly contributed to individual productivity.

The research provides valuable insight into the contributing factors that impact individual productivity within a green certified office building, as previous researchers have yet to reach a consensus on the relationship between individual productivity and IEQ in green certified office buildings.