Environmental best practices of the world largest real estate companies and benefits for shareholders

• Autor(a) principal: Vaz, Pedro
• Data de Publicação: 2011
• Tipo de documento: Dissertação
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Repositório Científico de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (Repositórios Cientìficos)
• Texto Completo: http://hdl.handle.net/10071/4218
• topic: Sustainable development; Green buildings; Environmental best practices; Financial benefits; Desenvolvimento sustentável; Edifícios ecológicos; Melhores práticas ambientais; Benefícios financeiros

The increasing awareness regarding the main environmental threats resulting from the exhausting use of the available resources has led to the expansion of the concept associated with the sustainable development. Concerning it, there is a wide range of sectors that can contribute for a more efficient exploration and use of resources. One of these sectors is the construction of buildings. This thesis aims to analyze the environmental best practices implemented by the world‟s largest eco-friendly real estate companies in the development of green buildings, and to investigate the potential additional financial benefits for their shareholders. This study begins with the identification of the communication mediums used by the group of companies selected in the disclosure of its environmental performance. Following this, it is studied the best environmental practices applied in the conceptualization, construction and use of buildings in 2006 and 2009 in order to characterize the state of development of the sector and its evolutions in this context. Finally, it is ascertained the existence of higher returns for the shareholders of these companies, by comparing their financial performance with another group deemed unsustainable. The results achieved demonstrate a positive trend in the adoption of more detailed disclosing methods regarding the sustainability strategy of these organizations. The same trend is verified in the implementation of environmental best practices, which is translated in building ecologically more efficient. However, it cannot be accurately concluded that group of sustainable companies reported financial results more attractive for shareholders.