In 2009 some 8.5 million square feet of office space in the Paris region were certified as environmentally sustainable, and more than 80% of premises larger than 54,000 square feet scheduled for completion by 2012 will meet the HQE high environmental standard. "We know what investors and businesses require when it comes to environmental quality and we also know that this is one of the keys to revitalizing the sector," said Denis Tersen, CEO of regional development agency ARDPI (Agence Régionale de Développement Paris Île-de-France).

"Sustainable development is a growing issue in the commercial real estate world. The fundamentals are now established and we are entering a more pragmatic phase with a raft of initiatives," said Magali Marton, head of research at DTZ France. HQE certification, which originally applied only to new office buildings, has now been extended to renovated buildings and to premises such as shops, warehouses and hotels. And green leases, which incorporate environmental clauses into leases, are also increasingly being discussed as a way of meeting sustainable development challenges, according to the report. Marton said the development of green buildings and green leases represents a promising start, but there is still much more to be done.