The growth of the green office market in the UK

Purpose - This paper examines the experience of the UK office market in embracing green buildings. The empirical analysis considers the spatial pattern and growth of green buildings in cities since 1990. It examines the perceived industry wisdom that the establishment of a green premium for occupation is the key to greening the office stock

Design/methodology/approach - The paper begins by looking at the concept of a green office and then examines the evolving attitudes towards these offices and the issues for local market dynamics. The empirical analysis examines the current spatial pattern of green office buildings in the UK and then their impact on city office markets where there is a major concentration. The latter part of the paper examines the growth of green offices since 1990. It begins with national trends and then examines the evolution of green development in individual cities.

Findings - The initial adoption of green offices was slow. There has been a dramatic rise in green offices at the peak of the last decade’s development boom and in the immediate years that follow. Market acceptance of the importance of greenness appears still to be in the melting pot with limited market transactions since 2008. Green offices represent only 2.7% of office buildings and 12% of total space in the market. Most green offices are in the principal cities with the largest concentration in London. London represents the only potential locality where a green market could have been established so far.

Practical implications - The paper provides an empirical assessment of the growth of green offices in the UK.

Originality/value - This is the first paper to consider the development and scale of green offices in the context of local markets. It challenges the perceived wisdom that a green premium is central to the green transformation to date.