Looking beyond LEED ratings
The current supply of green office buildings is not growing fast enough to meet the market demand driven by tenants making ambitious commitments to reduce carbon emissions. The decline of office development means tenants will have fewer options of buildings with sustainability features. More than three quarters of San Francisco’s Class A office buildings have green certification, but tenants are looking beyond LEED ratings to metrics like energy intensity and electrification.
“While markets are experiencing softening demand, as is the case with San Francisco, there is this subset of demand from high-quality tenants that will seek low-carbon workspaces to satisfy their own carbon commitments.” San Francisco Business Times (November 29, 2023)
Key Take-aways from the article:
- Despite an existing excess supply of office space, there is an increasing demand for sustainable office in cities like San Francisco,
- More than 74% of San Francisco tenants have a carbon commitment.
- Q3 San Francisco office development was 93% lower than the 5-year average.
- San Francisco has mandated that all buildings be zero emissions by 2040
