Sustainable investment is profitable > 1. UN-Habitat, Sustainable Building Finance: A Practical Guide to Project Financing in East Africa, 2018. 2. Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, The price of innovation: An analysis of the marginal cost of green buildings, 2019. The United Nations is aware of this: the financial factor is among "the most significant obstacles to the design of sustainable buildings".1 And, according to the SaintGobain Sustainable Construction Observatory (see page 78), the financial cost is thought to be an even bigger hindrance in the North (for 74%) than in the South (for 62%). Beyond the initial investment, it is the notion of profitability that also raises questions. This is because a lack of evidence of the benefits of sustainable construction is cited as a hindrance by nearly 30% of respondents. So, is sustainable construction profitable or not? Let's start by zooming out for an overviewbefore providing a more global answer. At project level: a proven return on investment While a sustainable construction project has a higher cost than a traditional project at startup, there is evidence of a definite return on investment. • Higher rental income. A large study2 in the United Kingdom, covering 336 sustainable buildings and 2,000 buildings not certified as sustainable, shows that development costs are on average 6.5% higher for sustainable buildings. However, this investment pays off, since those buildings achieve a rental income that is between 13.3% and 36.5% higher. 69 CONSTRUCTING A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE
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