Eichholtz, Kok, and Yonder (2012)

Echholtz, Piet, Nils Kok, and Erkan Yonder.  "Portfolio greenness and the financial performance of REITs."  Journal of International Money and Finance, May 2012.

From the authors' abstract:  "We match data on LEED- and Energy Star-certified buildings with detailed information on REIT portfolios and calculate the share of green properties for each REIT over the 2000–2011 period. We estimate a two-stage regression model and document that the greenness of REITs is positively related to three measures of operating performance – return on assets, return on equity and the ratio of funds from operations to total revenue. We also document that there is no significant relationship between the greenness of property portfolios and abnormal stock returns, suggesting that stock prices already reflect the higher cash flows deriving from investments in more efficient properties."

Link:  https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/jimfin/v31y2012i7p1911-1929.html