It is becoming increasingly clear that there are sound business reasons as to why Green Building is a good investment. A number of reports released over the past three years confirm that certified green buildings have a higher value and rental premium than non certified space. Whilst the markets of Europe and particularly Australia already clearly show this value premium, it will become increasingly evident in Ireland.
The report The Business case for Green Building released in 2013 gathered all the studies carried out globally into one document which makes a clear case as to why green building has clear value benefits. A follow up report Health Wellbeing and Productivity in Office Buildings was released in September 2014 and subsequent reports looked at the benefits to retail. This demonstrated overwhelming evidence that Green Building significantly improved the productivity of workers in Offices. Green Building adds value to your building, improving productivity of workers, improving learning outcomes and reducing hospital stays. The benefits of Green Building go well beyond saving energy costs. All of these reports are available at https://www.betterplacesforpeople.org
You also need to be aware of the Near Zero Energy standard. If you are planning a building in 2016 that will not reach completion until after 31st December 2018 you are taking a risk if it does not comply with the Near Zero Energy Standard. For more information on this see here.
