Building owners can see a ripple effect from good energy practices

Making your buildings more energy efficient is a win-win. Not only does it conserve resources and save money on operational costs but earning that LEED certification or Energy Star rating can actually be good for business.

Your brand is more than your logo or tagline. It is a combination of visual, verbal, and experiential factors that affect how your audience feels about you. As a commercial or residential building owner, the day-to-day experience your tenants have in your building not only determines if they will remain tenants, but it also directly impacts their perception of you as an owner. They correlate the way your building makes them feel each day with your overall brand.

Making energy-efficient improvements—such as installing LED lighting, upgrading windows, and updating HVAC—result in a better, more comfortable working or living environment for your tenants. Creating this positive environment can contribute to a positive perception for your brand.

 

Being sustainable or “green” isn’t a differentiator anymore; it’s expected by many consumers. This doesn’t just mean they want to drink their coffee from a recycled cup.

Customers want to know the organizations and brands with whom they choose to do business hold the same values they do, or that their own company does. They want to know the buildings in which they live, work, play, and learn are as environmentally friendly as possible, as this reflects on them and their values as well.

In fact, Nielsen reports that 66 percent of consumers are willing to spend more with a sustainable brand. In real estate specifically, a variety of studies have shown that tenants will pay a premium for energy efficient spaces with LEED or Energy Star ratings.

If you’re not doing everything you can to reduce the resources you use and your overall carbon footprint, you’re trailing the pack and potentially losing business.

 

Even in this increasingly digital age, word of mouth is often the most powerful marketing tool. More than 90 percent of B2B buyers are influenced by what they’ve heard by word of mouth when making a purchase decision.

What your current tenants think of and say about you—to peers, clients, family, and friends—can make or break your reputation. And it doesn’t always matter what you’re actually doing (or not doing), it’s their perception of it that matters.

This means not only taking the proper actions but being transparent and communicating what you’re doing. While you should consider improvements that will be visible to tenants, such as new lighting or occupancy sensors, many investments, such as upgrading HVAC, won’t be immediately apparent and must be explained.

If current and prospective tenants understand your energy efficient features and how they will benefit from them—better productivity, creativity, comfort, and utility bills—it can help solidify your brand in their minds.

Give tenants every reason to speak highly of you, and it will help your brand in the long run.