Green Real Estate: An Introduction

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Green Real EstateAn Introduction

• Source The Green Revolution by Jerry Yudelson

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Origins of the Green Real Estate Movement

• 1980s Formation of the Committee on the
  Environment within the American Institute of
  Architects
• 1990s 20th anniversary of Earth Day (1990) and
  UN Conference on Environment and Development
  (a.k.a. Earth Summit, 1992)
• Formation of the U.S. Green Building Council
  (USGBC) in 1993.

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U.S. Green Building Council

• A consensus-based group consisting solely of
  other organizations companies, government
  agencies, schools and universities, nonprofits,
  trade associations, etc.
• From a base of 150 groups in 1998, the USGBC had
  grown to a size of 7,500 as of early 2007.

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Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design
(LEED)

• The USGBC unveiled the LEED Green Building System
  for public use in 2000.
• LEED was the first rating system to hold
  commercial projects up for scrutiny for the full
  range of their effects on energy and water use,
  municipal infrastructure, transportation energy
  use, resource conservation, land use, and indoor
  environmental quality.
• Prior to LEED, most evaluation systems (such as
  the Environmental Protection Agencys Energy Star
  program) focused exclusively on energy use.

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The LEED Rating System

• LEED uses a point-based rating system that allows
  vastly different green buildings to be compared
  in their use of best practices from architecture,
  engineering, interior design, landscape
  architecture, and construction.
• Every project also has prerequisites that it must
  meet regardless of certification level. For
  example, the building must be non-smoking or have
  a very strict method for containing and
  exhausting tobacco smoke from the building
  without contaminating breathing air for
  non-smokers.

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The LEED Rating System

• LEED is a self-assessed third party-verified
  rating system. Applicants estimate the points
  for which their project qualifies ad submit their
  documentation to the USGBC, which assigns an
  independent reviewer to the project.
• The reviewer agrees and awards the points
  claimed, disagrees and disallows the points, or
  asks for further information or clarification.
• There is a one-step appeal process.

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LEED Certification Levels

• Certified the project scored more than 40 of
  the basic, or core, points in the system.
• Silver The project scored more than 50 of the
  core points.
• Gold The project scored more than 60 of the
  core points.
• Platinum The project scored more than 80 of the
  core points.

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Four Major LEED Rating Systems

• LEED for New Construction (LEED-NC)
• LEED for Core and Shell (LEED-CS)
• LEED for Commercial Interiors (LEED-CI)
• LEED for Existing Buildings (LEED-EB)

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LEED for New Construction

• The most widely known and used LEED system, which
  covers all new buildings, major renovations, and
  housing of 4 stories and above.
• Through the end of 2006, about 77 of LEED
  projects were registered and certified using the
  LEED-NC system.

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Key Factors in Rating a Building under LEED-NC

• Sustainable sites
• Water conservation
• Energy efficiency and atmosphere protection
• Materials and resource conservation
• Indoor environmental quality
• Encourage innovation and integrated design.

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LEED-NC

• Emory Universitys Whitehead Biomedical Research
  Lab - first LEED-certified laboratory in the
  United States

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LEED for Core and Shell Buildings

• Typically employed by a speculative developer who
  controls less than 50 of a buildings final
  improvements.
• The developer cannot wait until the building is
  finished to begin marketing a LEED rating system
  to prospective tenants, so the LEED-CS system
  provides important pre-certification and
  encourages greater green development.

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LEED-CS

• 1180 Peachtree, Atlanta - First LEED-CS-Gold
  certified project

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LEED for Commercial Interiors

• Mainly designed for situations in which the base
  building systems are not changed and in which a
  tenant takes up only a few floors in a larger
  building.
• Focuses on the factors the tenant can affect such
  as lighting design, energy-using equipment,
  lighting control systems, sub-metering,
  furniture, paints, carpets, etc.

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LEED for Existing Buildings

• Originally designed to be a method for assuring
  accountability of LEED-NC buildings over time.
• It has become a stand-alone rating system for
  building owners who want to benchmark their
  operations against a nationally recognized
  standard.

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Business Benefits of Green Buildings

• Savings on energy and water, typically 30-50.
• Maintenance cost reductions.
• Increased value from higher NOI
• Tax benefits for specific green building
  investments
• Productivity improvements, typically 3-5.
• Health benefits, reduced absenteeism, typically
  5 or more.
• Risk management benefits including faster
  lease-up and sales and lower exposure to toxic
  chemicals in buildings.
• Marketing and PR benefits.
• Increased availability of debt and equity funding
  for developers.

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The Costs of Green BuildingsIncremental Capital
Cost of 33 LEED-Certified Projects 2001-2003