A rating system for commercial property investments is to be created by some of the biggest property fund managers in Europe and the French certification group Bureau Veritas. The groups include ING Real Estate, General Electric's GE Real Estate Europe, Axa REIM and Natixis unit AEW Europe. It is hope that the rating system might become a global standard.
In the future buildings that are energy efficient are likely to attract premiums and the rating standard will help the industry identify the premium that the building might attract.
The standard will look at all aspects of the property's environmental impact including water and energy consumption, construction materials, emissions, transport links and health and safety record. The standard will work to measurable indicators.
These include a property's energy and water consumption, the waste it produces, its carbon emissions and transport links, plus its record on occupier health and safety.
Real estate accounts for 40 percent of the EU's energy requirements and carbon emissions.
