| The intent of this thesis is to strengthen the business case for sustainable building in Canada by studying the relationship between building energy efficiency and value. This is accomplished through detailed examination of four Toronto commercial office building retrofit case studies with quantitative pre- and post-retrofit energy and financial data. The income capitalization approach to building appraisal is adopted as a model for linking sustainability to value through net operating income. The results suggest that retrofitting buildings can decrease operating costs, increase occupancy rates, and increase effective rent (rental revenue), thereby increasing net operating income. These benefits are not necessarily achieved in every retrofit; however where these benefits do occur, they have positive effects on value. |
