Business Case for Green Building

1. COMPETITIVE DIFFERENTIATOR

Green buildings with lower operating costs and better indoor environmental quality are more attractive to a growing group of corporate, public and individual buyers. Green features will increasingly enter into tenants' decisions about leasing space and into buyers' decisions about purchasing properties and homes.

 

2. MITIGATE RISK

Green building certification can provide some measure of protection against future lawsuits through third-party verification of measures installed to protect indoor air quality, beyond just meeting code-required minimums. Faster permitting or special permit assistance can also be considered a type of risk mitigation. Another risk management benefit of green buildings in the private sector is the faster sales and leasing of such buildings, compared to similar projects in the same town. Green buildings tend to be easier to rent and sell, because educated tenants increasingly understand their benefits.

 

3. ATTRACT TENANTS

Today's savvier tenants understand and are looking for the benefits that green building spaces have to offer. The new Class A office space is green; lease-up rates for green buildings typically range from average to 20 percent above average.

 

4. COST EFFECTIVE

The cost per square foot for buildings seeking LEED certification falls into the existing range of costs for buildings not seeking LEED certification. An upfront investment of 2% in green building design, on average, results in life cycle savings of 20% of the total construction costs – more than ten times the initial investment . Additionally, building sale prices for energy efficient buildings are as much as 10% higher per square foot than conventional buildings.