Decisions by Key Office Building Stakeholders to Build or Retrofit Green in Toronto’s Urban Core

Prescott C. Ensign, Shawn Roy and Tom Brzustowski
Additional contact information
Prescott C. Ensign: Lazaridis School of Business and Economics, Wilfrid Laurier University, Waterloo, ON N2L3C7, Canada
Shawn Roy: Offsets and Partner Engagement, MDA, Ottawa, ON K2E8B2, Canada
Tom Brzustowski: Deceased 19 June 2020. Officer of the Order of Canada, Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Engineering, Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, First provost of the University of Waterloo, former deputy minister in the Government of Ontario, president of the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council for over 10 years, senior advisor to the Institute for Quantum Computing. Honorary member of the Royal Military College of Canada as well as honorary degrees from University of Guelph, Ryerson Polytechnic University, University of Waterloo, McMaster University, University of Alberta, Université d’Ottawa, École Polytechnic de Montréal, Concordia University, Brock University, University of Victoria, York University, University of Northern British Columbia, Carleton University and Lakehead University.

Sustainability, 2021, vol. 13, issue 12, 1-31

Abstract: The environmental impact of greenhouse gas emissions from buildings—especially in global cities such as Toronto—is well documented. Green mitigation of new and existing buildings has also been researched. Few studies, however, have focused on the decision to build or retrofit green. Are key stakeholders in Toronto’s office building sector aligning their decisions to achieve sustainable environmental goals? Do they support LEED certification regardless of the impact on market valuation? Are tenants willing to pay higher rents in LEED office buildings? The study first obtained data on 16 LEED and 52 conventional buildings to determine if LEED certification has a significant impact on net asking rent. Pearson correlation and linear regression analysis did not find LEED certification to be statistically significant in explaining the variance in net asking rent (market value). The second stage included interviews with senior executives engaged in Toronto’s office building sector. The expert informtabants were asked to assess if financial drivers are the deciding factor in decisions to pursue LEED certification. They concurred that LEED certification is not the primary driver. It is a combination of numerous factors that overall have an impact on a firm’s financial bottom line.

Keywords: green buildings; LEED certification; real estate development process; drivers of sustainability (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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