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Environmentally friendly businesses are more likely to attract and retain employees, a sustainable development expert says.

Romilly Madew, chief executive officer of the Green Building Council of Australia, says in a recent survey of property owners, developers and valuers, that almost half of all respondents indicated the pressure to build green was coming from their tenants, and in turn, their staff.

"Forty-five per cent of the survey respondents indicated that tenant demand is driving the need for their organisations to implement green buildings and practices," Ms Madew told the Metropolitan Planning and Design Summit in Sydney on Tuesday.

Major banks in particular have picked up on the trend towards environmentally sustainable offices, hoping it will increase their appeal to an increasingly skilled and discerning workforce, Ms Madew says.

ANZ is currently in the process of building Australia's largest office building in Melbourne which will be one of a handful of commercial premises in the country to achieve a five-star Green Star rating.

"The Gen (Generation) Ys of today, they all understand environment and they all know that the other banks are doing it, and literally (ANZ) were like: `We need to compete in that market and we all know that the market is really tight at the moment and the generation are not silly'.

"They are demanding this and the market is such that they can demand it, and that's why a lot of tenants are driving it as well," Ms Madew said.

As well as improving employee productivity, sustainable buildings also made smart investments, she says.

"The business case is higher value, higher rental yield, higher property council rating ... higher calibre tenants, future-proofing and access to sustainability grants," Ms Madew said.

The Green Building Council of Australia is a not-for-profit organisation whose website says it aims to develop a sustainable property industry for Australia by encouraging the adoption of green building practices.

AAP