THE VALUE OF SUSTAINABILITY (VALUE AS A DRIVER FOR SUSTAINABLE REFURBISHMENT OF COMMERCIAL BUILDINGS: A EUROPEAN PERSPECTIVE)

According to the fact that around 40 per cent of this energy is used in buildings. Reducing energy use in our building stock is thus a major concern, with the associated need to make the buildings resilient to the climatic changes that are already apparent and inevitably will become more severe in the future. Energy is used in the materials and process of construction and in all aspects of using and managing the building for as long as it is occupied. The latter includes energy used for the building itself – ventilating, lighting, heating, etc. – the electrical appliances and equipment in and around the building, the water used, transport of people to and from the building, and so on. This book focuses on the decision-making and process of retrofitting existing commercial buildings to use less energy in all these areas and how this can be achieved at the same time as enhancing the other aspects of sustainability, related wider environmental and social issues.Against this background, this study will give a brief overview of the existing literature surrounding the business case for sustainable commercial real estate, examine the role of valuation in the wider economy and in transforming commercial property markets as well as current market barriers to stepping up the pace of investing in sustainable refurbishment of the existing commercial real estate stock with regard to valuation and how these could be overcome. Finally, it will also look at different types, perceptions and concepts of value that can act as a driver for either investors to underwrite investments for sustainable refurbishments of commercial buildings or for certain groups of occupiers to want to occupy these buildings.

Keywords:

Commercial Buildings , Sustainability and Commercially Valuation , Reducing Energy Use , Green Building , Energy Efficiency and Renewables