Do green certifications add value? Feedback from high-level stakeholders in the Spanish office market

Abstract

The transition towards a decarbonized European economy by 2050 provides numerous opportunities for companies in the real estate sector to integrate sustainable actions into their assets. In the office industry, green certifications are designed to disclose how sustainable a building is and to enable comparison among peers. This paper uses semi-structured interviews with experts in real estate and sustainability to offer qualitative insights into the decision-making process behind the voluntary certification of office buildings with green certifications such as Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design -LEED- or Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method -BREEAM-. It may shed light on emerging trends in the sustainable real estate market. The findings, separated into economic, social and technical dimensions, show deep, widespread implementation of green certifications in sustainability-sensitive demand and supply. They function as a discard or brown discount vector, rather than as a green premium. Expert commentary on how certifications influence asset values has been cautious, due to insufficient data. Furthermore, the benefits of green financing are disputed. Other vectors, such as carbon footprint and European taxonomy alignment, have gained relevance in investment and operational processes.