Improving the productivity and well-being of employees are the main drivers behind occupiers' reasons for becoming more sustainable. This has been revealed by a survey carried out by Jones Lang LaSalle among 137 large and medium-sized occupiers.
At the same time, the importance of sustainable mobility has increased dramatically. This is reflected in a remarkably clear shift in the location preferences of office occupiers. For instance, 59% of respondents are currently based at highway locations, but in the future only 30% want to be located there. Instead, there is increasing interest in multi-modal hubs which are easily accessible via public transport and motorways. This normally involves public transport stations and ring-road locations and a highly-urbanised profile due to the mix of functionality and amenities.
The respondents' propensity to move seems to be expanding, with a growing preference to improve the sustainability of their premises by relocating to existing offices rather than moving to sustainable new-build developments.
Finally, the latest survey also shows an obvious divide in the market for sustainable accommodation. There is an increasing distinction between users already located in sustainable accommodation who have achieved their policy targets (sometimes laid out a few years ago), and users who have no (or no longer have) sustainability ambitions due to the difficulty of achieving them within a reasonable period.
The JLL Occupier Sustainability Survey 2013 is a follow-up to earlier surveys in 2008 and 2010. For the current survey, participating organisations originated from 10 different sectors (the majority being business services) with each employing over 250 people and almost 40% of them each utilising more than 10,000 sq m of office space.
Source: Jones Lang LaSalle, 2013