"We constantly see examples of businesses that suffer from operational inefficiency and massive capital loss as they excessively introduce non-effective technologies and hardware upgrades instead of focusing on overall planning and management. It is important to get early involvement of professional advisers," said Stephen Tam, senior director of asset services for CBRE China.

China's green building development and services market has a great potential considering the fast expansion of the market and average low per capita occupancy of green building space, which stands at less than 0.2 sq m in second-and lower－tier cities.

The report estimates that current green building space accounts for only 1 percent of China's total existing building space. In 2020, it said, about 10 percent will be green space.

How to transform existing, non-green buildings into certified green buildings is a challenge.

China has already issued government circulars seeking opinion on making standards for transforming non-green buildings into green ones.

"For old buildings, the key to transformation should not be focused on investing heavily (in reconstruction or new facilities). The operational side and management side may be the focus for enhancing energy efficiency, which involves all people related to the building," said Frank Chen, head of research for CBRE in China.