Real estate fund managers, development directors and heads of facilities are under increasing pressure to retrofit their business models and embrace sustainability. The built environment is under double scrutiny to meet new green demands -- and it's not just distant government bodies setting down the rules.

In addition to tighter building regulations -- the U.S. Department of Energy's 'net zero' energy 2025 target for commercial buildings and the EU's Energy Performance of Building Directive are just two examples -- tenants, both existing and potential ones, are now making their requirements clear. And sustainability is topping their priority list.

The World Building Council for Sustainable Development estimates that 40 percent of global carbon emissions stem from the built environment. This problem, one that used to be the territory of real estate developers, is now a shared one. Sustainability has shifted, enveloping owners and occupiers along its way, and a new market for sustainable real estate advisors has opened up in the process. These suppliers know that sustainability can add value to all aspects of the building life cycle, but that doesn't mean that the problem is solved, as choosing the right advisor is crucial in order to formulate the right sustainability strategy.

Recent Verdantix research pinpointed that what clients really want -- and this assessment is based upon interviews with 15 key figures at FTSE 100 real estate investment trusts, pan-European real estate developers and global occupiers operating in the U.K. -- is an ideas-based approach to sustainability.

In our interviews, they cited the many benefits of making sustainability a business as usual practice: It adds to brand equity, helps attract stronger tenants and lowers building operational costs. When faced with new projects, more than half of our customer panel acknowledged that sustainable design was an important factor in new real estate projects, too.