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Purpose– This paper aims to investigate the benefits derived from sustainable office buildings in People’s Republic of China (PRC) through their green features, with particular reference to energy efficiency.Design/methodology/approach– A survey on operating costs, energy impacts, productivities from property managers and tenants of sustainable office buildings was conducted in Shenzhen, PRC. All survey data were collected from a portfolio of 12 sustainable office buildings and from 76 responses out of more than 400 tenants who had moved into these buildings from conventional office buildings.Findings– Most tenants were concerned with sustainable operations, practices and policies. Some of them held that sustainable office buildings contribute to higher productivity and less sick time. These buildings typically consume less electricity and water, and have higher occupancy rates and rents.Research limitations/implications– There are only 40 sustainable office buildings in Shenzhen, and our study, albeit with proper methodology, with 12 sample buildings may not reflect entirely the attitudes of tenants and property managers of sustainable office buildings in Shenzhen. Advisably, future works can be carried out on a larger scale in other main cities of PRC to obtain a more comprehensive and precise evaluation on which strategic sustainable central/local government policies might be formulated.Originality/value– The concept of facilities management on sustainable buildings, especially on their derived benefits, is relatively new in developing countries such as China. This study is one of the first attempts in this area. In addition, this paper also contributes to existing literature by looking into the green lease provisions and operating policies of these sustainable buildings.