A considerable share of the global greenhouse gases is caused by the construction and real estate sector, but the increasing awareness on global climate change within the industry caused the emergence of multiple voluntary environmental certifications. The effects of environmental certification on office rents have received considerable attention in the last decade and there is now much evidence supporting the hypothesis that environmentally certified office buildings achieve higher rents over conventional office buildings. Although much attention has been paid to the United States office market, less attention was spent on the European and specifically the Dutch real estate market. The aim of this thesis is to examine the relationship between environmental certification and market value within the Dutch office market and therefore answers the following question: How does environmental certification influence market value within the dynamics of the Dutch office market? Empirical evidence shows that BREEAM-NL certified office buildings hold an average rental premium of 10.30% over non-certified offices. Furthermore, the rental premium in the G5 varies between 5.13% and 12.64%. The results indicate that the rental premium is positively correlated with the label score and show rental premiums of 10.19%, 6.18% and 14.34% for respectively BREEAM-NL Good, Very Good and Excellent. The results do not show significant occupancy premiums for BREEAM-NL certified offices. This practical evidence on the willingness to pay from the Dutch occupier market intends to bring clarification in the public debate and helps owners and investors in their decision-making around environmental certified investments in their building assets.

Purpose This study examines the relationship between environmental building certification Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method (BREEAM-NL) and office rents in the Dutch office market. Design/methodology/approach A hedonic price model was used to assess the impact of BREEAM certification on office rents. The study is based on 4,355 rent transactions in the period 2015 to mid-2022, in which 331 transactions took place in certified office buildings and 4,024 transactions in non-certified office buildings. Findings The results provide empirical evidence on quantitative economic benefits of BREEAM-certified offices in the Netherlands. After controlling for all important office rent determinants, the results show a rental premium for certified office buildings of 10.3% on average. The green premiums highly differ across submarkets and vary between 5.1 and 12.6% in the five largest Dutch cities. Additionally, the results show significant positive correlation between BREEAM-NL label score and rents, whereby better performing buildings generally command higher rents. Originality/value The study contributes to the current literature on green building economics by providing, as one of the first, empirical evidence on the existence of financial benefits for BREEAM-certified office buildings in the Dutch office market.@en