The need to electrify Australia’s 190,000 commercial buildings and cut carbon emissions threatens to widen the gap that leaders at this week’s Australian Financial Review Property Summit said separates newer from older assets as tenants increasingly looked to reduce their own carbon footprint.

A new push by the Green Building Council of Australia for building owners to replace gas with electricity for their hot water and heating facilities emphasises a fault line that the biggest owners of offices say is drawing users towards new, more environmentally sustainable accommodation.