Adding value to a structure is only one side of the perks to a development brand from incorporating sustainable design in a development project. In a broad sense, there are two more benefits that should be considered when planning a development project. The first has to do with social responsibility, and creating a structure that is high-quality and low-waste. The second is the effect that sustainability has on a development organization’s brand.
In this article, we will cover the benefits of sustainable design on a developer’s brand, and how a developer can leverage these concepts in order to increase visibility, project opportunities, and revenue for the development organization in the long-run.
This is the eighth article in our ongoing series about high-performance commercial development projects. In this series, we will cover such topics as: the components and benefits of high-performance design, the effects that high-performance design has on your development organization, and the effects that it has on the final product. If you have found this article of use, you may like to take a look at the rest of the series.
Follow the shortcuts:
Part 1 – Real Estate Developers: The Keys to High-Performance Design
Part 2 – Why High-Performance Is the Future of Commercial Real Estate
Part 3 – The Value of Productivity in Your Retail Development Project
Part 4 – The Value of High-Performance Design in Residential Income Properties
Part 5 – The Impact of Sustainable Design in a Commercial Real Estate Development
Part 6 – Improving the Lifecycle of Commercial Developments with High-Performance Design
Part 7 – How Modern Systems Can Save Money to Real Estate Developers
Part 8 – The Value of Sustainable Design to a Real Estate Developer
Part 9 – Real Estate Developers: Sustainable Design Has Real Perks
Part 10 – The Future of Commercial Real Estate Developments: Sustainable Design?
Brand enhancement
Sustainability is one of the crucial aspects of high-performance design, and even just by itself, it is a powerful method of increasing the perceived value of a structure in the eyes of all relevant brand publics. This is because a development organization’s products are their most tangible brand communication channels, so creating a structure that both compliments its environment and sustains the environment reflects well on the organization.
For the tenants, property owners and managers, neighborhood, and governing body, a high-quality structure that is operationally efficient without sacrificing comfort or appearance is a positive reflection on the developer and an indication of the development organization’s future projects. Adding quality to your development projects is the same thing as adding value to your brand through your direct brand communication channels.
Brand protection
In the same way adding quality to a product is considered an investment in the brand, maintaining a level of quality that is superior to the norm and ensuring that all relevant standards are met protects a development organization’s brand. Dissatisfaction or, heaven forbid, post-occupancy litigation are almost always a result of substandard quality, so by appropriately investing in quality, a developer protects their name.
One final point with investing in quality and sustainability for protection: reaching for a higher shelf from the get-go means that risks during construction, such as failed inspections or last minute on-site changes in design, are often mitigated because the structure is built above the bare requirements for code from the get go. This saves money and time by keeping a schedule on track.
Positioning and differentiation
Being known for incorporating sustainable design will position your development organization as one who creates quality products. Across the globe, more and more development organizations are adopting this positioning strategy because of the project opportunities that are available for high-performance structures, and their investments are paying off.