Sustainability remains high on the agenda despite the worsening economic climate, according to the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors’ (RICS) Global Property Sustainability Survey Q2 2009.

Around 40% of respondents believed that sustainability is a more important issue for their clients now than it was this time last year, whilst 50% felt it was just as important. Under a tenth of those responding felt that it was less of an issue for their clients.

In the UK, 33% of property professionals questioned saw sustainability as important, whilst only 17% viewed it as unimportant. Energy supply/efficiency was cited as the most important issue, by 28% of respondents. Transport issues were close behind with 22% of respondents citing this category followed closely by over consumption of natural resources (19%).

More fundamentally, it appears to be business’s bottom line that is driving the sustainability agenda not just in the UK but across the globe. In the case of the UK, 33% of surveyors questioned suggested that this was the most significant driver for their clients. Legal compliance, clients demand, marketing purposes and competitive advantage were other reasons that were cited. Interestingly, no one responding felt that ethical or moral issues had anything to do with a client’s decision to focus on sustainability.

When questioned on whether or not companies would be prepared to pay a premium for a green building, on average it was the Government departments and oil companies who were perceived to be more willing. In the UK, it was felt that Governments would pay a maximum premium of around 12% while oil companies would be willing to pay a 10% premium.