The concept of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and its effect on firm performance is receiving increasing academic interest. However, most of the literature excludes the financial sector and, more important, listed property funds. This is surprising, as the real estate sector has a major...

This research exploits the experimental laboratory offered by REITs by investigating how REIT corporate governance affects performance. We follow Gompers, Ishii and Metrick (2003) and use a corporate governance index to measure the overall impact of corporate governance on various measures of...

Capital investments in energy efficiency in the built environment are a cost-effective manner to achieve substantial reductions in current carbon emissions. In fact, improvements in the energy-efficiency or sustainability of buildings have been shown to lead to positive financial returns....

Energy consumption in the commercial property sector offers an important opportunity for conserving resources. In this study, we evaluate the financial implications of two elements of “sustainability” – energy efficiency and accessibility – in the market for commercial real estate. An...

The residential sector accounts for 33% of electricity consumption in the U.S., with a total expenditure of $166billion in 2010. Increasing the energy efficiency of the durable housing stock can thus provide significant cost savings for consumers. One promising trend is the rise of homes labeled...

The residential sector accounts for one-fifth of global energy consumption, resulting from the requirements to heat, cool, and light residential dwellings. It is therefore not surprising that energy efficiency in the residential market has gained importance in recent years. In this paper, we...

We evaluate the economics of financial intermediation in alternative assets by investigating the allocation and performance of pension fund investments in real estate, the most significant alternative asset class for institutional investors. We document substantial heterogeneity in real estate...

Attention to ‘sustainability’ and energy efficiency rating schemes in the commercial property sector has increased rapidly during the past decade. In the UK, commercial properties have been certified under the BREEAM rating scheme since 1999, offering fertile ground to investigate...