Abstract
Many leading organisations worldwide, have adopted their workplaces as a means to meet a range of financial drivers thereby, secure competitive advantage, through sustainability in built environment. The lack of exploitation of this concept by the commercial property market of Botswana led to the research question for this study. Could it be because the conventional leasing yield the maximum benefits or that what literature and other international policy makers are promoting is something sensational rather than statement of common truth? The purpose of this study was to provide an answer to whether traditional leases are common in Botswana property market as compared to green leases which can be adopted as an alternative sustainable management practice. In realizing the objectives, the study investigated and compared the performance of properties both under green leasing and conventional or traditional leasing by measuring the performance indicators. These performance indicators were operational cost, vacancy rates and utility cost per metre. By utilizing the green design evaluation model, sustainable measures or fixtures were used as input variable in this model whilst profit maximization or returns on investment in commercial properties were treated as variables dependent on operational expenses, vacancy rates and generally costs were the output of this model. From three office nodes of Gaborone purposely selected by the researchers, data was collected through the use of a questionnaire and was analysed using descriptive statistics and overall mean scores were utilized to present the findings. The analysis also indicated that the differences between traditional and green leases in Botswana currently are minimal and therefore, current leases are still relevant to the commercial property market. The implications of the results are that though green leases are sustainable, traditional leases are still relevant and mostly utilised in Botswana’s leasing market. The study recommends policy change if green leases are to become more prominence in the rental property market.
Highlights
Debate about sustainable development has been intense recently, and the emphasis has been on sustainable development (Collins, Junghans, & Haugen, 2016; James, 2013)
The objectives of the study were: (1) to establish the extent to which green leases are common in Botswana; (2) to elucidate the difference between traditional leases and green leases; (3) to identify factors that hinder the adoption of green leases in Botswana; and to come up with measures that can help promote the adoption of green leases
Long payback periods may be said to be very significant factor it does not have the highest frequency. This is due to the fact that long pay back period is a factor that may affect mainly owners of the buildings but due to their minimal participation, the results showed low frequency
Summary
Debate about sustainable development has been intense recently, and the emphasis has been on sustainable development (Collins, Junghans, & Haugen, 2016; James, 2013). Much as there has been calls for sustainable development practices worldwide (United Nations, 2015; Mudehwe, Chirisa, & Matamanda, 2016; United Nations, 2017; Collins, Junghans, & Haugen, 2016; James, 2013; Ratcliffe, Stubbs, & Keeping, 2009), no study has been conducted to campare the performance of traditional leases against green leases in the commercial real estate market. Mudehwe, Chirisa, & Matamanda (2016) defines green leasing to be a lease that focus on the sustainable practices by the landlord and tenant with the objective of eliminating the disincentives in a commercial lease to reduce energy, water and raw material consumption through the increased recycling as well as use of sustainable materials for tenant improvements. The majority of respondents (89.1%) and the remaining (11.9%) were Owner’s Agent and Others
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