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Investment in green buildings is economically viable- GBCSA

15 September 2015

Green buildings outperform their conventional counterparts by almost 30%; the IPD South Africa Annual Green Property Indicators 2014 report shows The research report, compiled by analyst company MSCI, found that green properties delivered an ungeared total return of 12.1%, while less efficient buildings only delivered a total return of about 9.4%.

“The business case to invest in green buildings is becoming more compelling every year,” Green Building Council of South Africa CEO Brian Wilkinson said. The research, for the year ended December 2014, comprised the IPD South Africa database of 1 726 properties, valued at more than R264-billion, of which the Green Property Indicators assessed a subset of 597 commercial buildings across 14 property types. 

“The return of 12.1% on greener buildings illustrated in the latest index results is 270 basis points (bps) above the balance of the sample of properties.

“This is remarkable and makes an even stronger business case for investing in green buildings,” Wilkinson noted.

“This innovative index is set to become an important tool in the evaluation of both portfolio performance and, in turn, asset and portfolio value. We anticipate this will further drive green building practices and investment in South Africa,” he said.  

“Electricity, water and waste disposal are among the chief operational costs in most buildings. Green buildings provide the opportunity to significantly reduce these costs.”  

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