Sustainability is a growing movement in many industries today, including commercial real estate. Every day, more and more commercial building owners are actively committing to sustainable and environmentally friendly remodels, in order to help them protect the environment while also saving money, increasing property value, and attracting investors. 

If you’re a commercial building owner, or a business owner with commercial property, upgrading your building with environmentally friendly features is a great way to invest in your business. With this in mind, let’s take a closer look at 4 benefits to making your building environmentally friendly. 

Money Savings 

Aside from helping the environment and reducing your carbon footprint, money savings is one of the biggest benefits to updating your building. Green fixtures reduce overall energy usage, lessen the burden on climate control systems, and reduce your building’s overall dependency on local utility systems. 

It’s no secret that utilities cost money, can drain company resources and inhibit their ability to save or invest funds how they would like. By switching out to energy efficient fixtures, companies can save more than 10% each year on their utility costs. Over time, this can add up to significant savings. 

Return on Investment 

Making your building energy efficient is not only good for the environment, it also gives you a solid return on your investment. The more energy efficient a building is, the most investors are willing to buy in — and the more you can demand for your space.

It’s not always easy to know which upgrades make the most sense, investment wise. Consider a sustainability audit, which is a great way for building owners to identify the areas of greatest need and best opportunity.

Better for the Environment

Of course, we want to do all that we can to help the environment and leave the world a better place than we found it. Installing sustainable features is better for the environment, and can make a significant impact on water cleanliness or outdoor air quality. You may even be able to keep certain pollutants and toxins in the ground, saving nearby plants and animals. 

Attract Customers Who Support Green Businesse

For many consumers, supporting businesses that protect the environment is very important to them. They will often go out of their way to work with these companies, and are willing to pay a premium. If you’re interested in attracting these types of customers, consider promoting your green efforts as your remodels are taking place. 

There are a number of ways that you can communicate this to your customers, including: 

• Send out a newsletter to existing customers and prospects, letting them know the changes that are being made in your building and when they will take place 
• Put up attractive signs in the bathrooms, letting your tenants and guests know how much water your energy-efficient fixtures save each year 
• Use attractive sustainable materials, such as reclaimed wood or recycled glass, that will catch the eye and appeal to customers 

There are many benefits to making your building more environmentally friendly. Your building will be worth more, your business will save money, you will attract new customers, and your building will serve as a role model for other businesses in the area. To stay up to date on real estate trends and insights, explore the RealNex Blog.