Hong Kong landlords see high rent premiums for green office upgrades

Hong Kong landlords investing in green office refurbishments are achieving significant rent premiums, averaging 23 per cent according to an analysis by Savills. This exceeds premiums seen in Amsterdam (18 per cent) and London (11 per cent). In contrast, Singapore landlords see the lowest premiums because green standards are already widely integrated into the city's building landscape.

In Hong Kong, a new “cooling as a service” (CaaS) model is helping building owners reduce carbon emissions without large upfront capital expenditures. Through partnerships with energy solutions provider CLPe, buildings such as the Cordis Hotel, Nina Tower, and Manulife Financial Centre are retrofitting high-efficiency cooling systems.

These projects utilize AI-powered platforms to optimize energy use and employ build-own-operate-transfer (BOOT) arrangements. Under this model, providers fund, install, and maintain the systems in exchange for a monthly subscription, guaranteeing performance and energy efficiency for up to 20 years.