Future Research Directions of Energy Efficiency

This book has addressed a wide range of issues related to energy efficiency and real estate, from building certification to the use of green building materials. While some of the research presented here has been conceptual and others more empirical, one commonality is in how meaningful metrics are derived or used to measure behavior changes. Green certification, for example, can be viewed as a signal of one’s desire to obtain additional green rent premiums balanced against the additional costs of achieving the certification. What this emphasizes is the translation of the conceptual into the empirical (something that can be measured or quantified in some meaningful way). This is important, because the information value of variables that researchers use to quantify the effects of green building activities and green rent premiums needs to be greater than zero.