Sustainability Roundtable, Inc. is preparing a study on Intelligent Building Systems: software and hardware solutions that are designed to monitor and analyze a building’s performance on a variety of data and provide analytics, suggest operational improvements, and present dashboard results.

To support this research, we are conducting a survey of users’ awareness of, and experience with, these products. This brief survey is targeted to facility managers or staff who are responsible for evaluating and implementing such a system.

Please complete the survey by clicking here.

Thank you in advance for contributing to our research. We are planning to release findings in January 2012, so we ask for a response by Friday, December 23, 2011. A summary of the findings will be made available to those who provide contact information while completing the survey. We are excited to present this analysis to help drive the move toward more sustainable building operations.

We look forward to your participation and wish you a wonderful holiday season!
If you have any questions, please contact andrewreovan (at) sustainround.com

This past year has been marked by corporate and commercial real estate leaders who have increasingly embraced the principles of sustainability to reduce operating expenses, enhance enterprise value and align real estate/facility portfolios with their organization’s goals of financial performance and environmental excellence.

In 2011, the challenge for executives did not come from their inability to succeed and lead but, from limited capital expenditure resources in the face of the risk and uncertainty of an expanding yet fragile world economy.

2012 will bring its own set of risk and uncertainty but, real estate professionals seem more motivated to develop and implement portfolio-wide sustainability strategies with the confidence that an organized commitment to corporate sustainability better aligns them with top management, investors, customers, talent and regulators. And, that sustainability is a better way to organize and motivate geographically dispersed, functionally divided staff.

In the coming year, leading real estate executives must recognize that individual sustainability initiatives, no matter how successful, are unlikely to be acknowledged at a Board or investor level. Conversely, real estate leaders that aggregate multiple successful sustainability initiatives with immediate payback paired with initiatives that have a longer-term internal rates of return can organize and animate the drive to higher performance throughout a large real estate portfolio that will justify Board, investor and top customer recognition and support.

The key to sustainable real estate strategy success in 2012 will rely on:

• Leading companies who recognize sustainability as a megatrend that presents strategic imperatives for senior executives, where real estate plays a prominent and sometimes guiding role in enterprise wide sustainability.
• A more comprehensive, internally branded “sustainability strategy” can be better resourced by the C-suite and the Board, rewarded by investors, supported by employees and lead to higher scores on the rapidly emerging number of indexes that measure sustainability.
• Energy efficiency and cost savings will remain the core of real estate sustainability strategy, but a growing number of corporate users will see the value of enhanced employee health, well-being, and productivity within workplace environments.
• Leading real estate executives will establish a compelling long-term vision of sustainable real estate with a strong business case and create effective policies and management structures to institutionalize sustainability.
• Real estate executives will be identified as “Committed”, “Advanced” or “Leaders” depending on the maturity of their strategy. It will be critical to evaluate and identify improvements through the use of assessment tools such as the two-tiered qualitative “Sustainability Performance Assessment” (SPA), developed by the Sustainability Roundtable, Inc. (SR, Inc.)
• The SPA reveals that leading companies will invest broadly in portfolio sustainability strategies but most companies still do not adequately invest in the areas of governance or results.

Will you be among the committed, advanced real estate leaders to achieve sustainability success in the coming year and ‘move the needle on the dial’?

Dare to be a pioneer and become the catalyst for change that will drive your company to greater sustainability in 2012.

If you would like to learn more about SR Inc.’s “Strategic Performance Assessment” or how its subscription-based research and management best practice advisory services can help you drive your organization closer to sustainability, visit us at www.sustainround.com or contact SR Inc.’s Larry Simpson, Executive Vice President – Advisory Services at larrysimpson@sustainround.com.

The Sustainability Roundtable, Inc. (SR Inc.), the for-profit, shared cost research and consulting firm convened well over 100 industry leaders of corporate/commercial real estate executives and sustainability professionals who represented over 60 member-client organizations at SR Inc.’s Third Annual Summit entitled, “The Change Driving Sustainability” on November 30^th and December 1^st at the St. Regis Hotel in Washington D.C.

The invitation only two-day event will featured: sustainability excellence award winners; presentations and case studies of SR Inc.’s 2011 Research Program; panel discussions with Federal agency representatives; and, facilitated sessions to develop SR Inc.’s 2012 Research Program.

Management Best Practice Sessions included:

Portfolio-wide Sustainability Strategies: What strategies do Real Estate Executives use to resource and create sustainable value. (Includes Innovative Finance for Energy Efficiency)

Benchmarking Sustainability: What sustainability KPIs should Leaders adopt and what are the relevant performance benchmarks.

Sustainable Leased Space: How Leaders move to more sustainable leased space? How Tenants and Landlords systematically implement green leases and what provisions in RFPs, LOIs and Leases are used.

Alternative Workplace Strategies: What AWS strategies are successfully adopted to increase productivity and how can landlord’s best respond.

Working with the Federal Government: What are the best sustainability resources available within the Federal Government and how can Real Estate Executives partner with them.

In addition to sessions and panel discussions, SR Inc. honored Award Winners announced at the Summit Dinner:

• SAP: SRER Outstanding Corporate Leader 2011
• USAA Real Estate Company: SRER Outstanding Landlord 2011
• Suzanne Cooper, Director, Real Estate USA and Canada, Cisco: SRER Outstanding Corporate Executive 2011
• Brandywine Realty Trust:  SRER Emerging Leader Landlord 2011
• Kevin Kampschroer, Director, Office of High-Performance Green Buildings, U.S. General Services Administration: SRER Outstanding Public Sector Leader 2011

The collaboration of SR Inc.’s member-clients supported by SR Inc.’s analysts, researchers, consultants and advisors is rapidly driving the real estate industry toward greater sustainability with breakthrough management best practices about ‘what works’ to apply the principles of sustainable real estate strategies across a portfolio that reduce operating expenses/occupancy costs; enhance enterprise/asset value; and align with organizations’ commitment to the environment.

If you would like to learn more about SR Inc.’s Annual Summit III or how SR Inc.’s resources and implementation guidance could help you drive your organization closer to sustainability, contact SR Inc.’s Larry Simpson, Executive Vice President – Advisory Services at larrysimpson@sustainround.com.

Traditionally, real estate professionals pick the low hanging fruit of energy efficiency and the growing challenges of water conservation. But, more recently, corporate/commercial real estate executives who want to develop and execute a comprehensive sustainability strategy address the third leg of the sustainability stool – waste reduction.

Progressive professionals are asking:

What are the practical ways to reduce waste hauling, disposal and necessary onsite equipment?

How can my organization maximize available recycling rebates?

What are the benefits and challenges of single stream recycling?

The Sustainability Roundtable, Inc. (SR Inc.) has researched answers to these and many of the aspects of this important issue in its recently released a briefing entitled, “Reducing Waste and Increasing Diversion.”

SR Inc.’s briefing provides an overview of waste reduction and recycling strategies, and highlights best practices that reduce the volume of waste entering the waste stream, improve diversion rates, increase operational efficiency, engage employees, lower operating costs, and enhance brand and reputation.

Leading companies implement comprehensive waste reduction and recycling programs across their portfolios of leased and owned facilities to:

• Reduce the cost of transportation and disposal, fees and fines.
• Reduced waste sent to landfills reduces GHG emissions.
• Accrue points toward LEED and BREEAM certification.
• Stimulate building occupant interest in recycling that drive behavior toward greater sustainability.
• Galvanize occupants into entrepreneurial roles that improve operations and distinguish leaders.
• Drive value-adding sustainability initiatives such as composting and sustainable materials purchasing programs.
• Elevate “green” status and enhance enterprise brand/reputation.

SR Inc.’s briefing features case studies from clients EMC, IBM, NetApp, as well as British Land, PepsiCo, Walmart, Intel, Accor, Triple Five Group, and Lend Lease.

The key strategic recommendations in the briefing encourage leaders to:

• Institute purchasing programs that prioritize vendors who minimize the material that enter the company’s waste stream and buy only items that can be reused, recycled, or composted.
• Engage engineers, “Green Teams”, EH&S personnel, consultants and vendors to explore ways to reduce waste.
• Educate stakeholders and seek employee input to design and evaluate recycling programs that will increase employee compliance.
• Implement a portfolio-wide recycling and reuse plan for paper, cardboard, plastics, wood, and metals – tailor the program to accommodate the unique waste, if any, of the business.
• Avoid commingled plastics or contaminated paper products that are not easily recyclable.
• Sell waste in bulk to generate revenue repurpose waste within company operations.
• Avoid incineration except for waste-to-energy.
• Publicize program successes to maximize the value of the initiative.
• Reintegrate savings into programs and amenities for building occupants, who appreciate seeing their recycling efforts pay off.

To receive a copy SR Inc.’s “Reducing Waste and Increasing Diversion” or to learn more about how SR Inc. can help you and your organization develop and execute a comprehensive sustainability strategy, contact SR Inc.’s Larry Simpson, Executive Vice President of Advisory Services, at larrysimpson@sustainround.com.

The movement to greater sustainability in leased space took an important step forward following a recent Sustainability Roundtable, Inc. (SR Inc.) Member-Client webinar. The event presented research, case studies and introduced a newly developed “green leasing” toolkit that will enable corporate occupiers and owners/investors to achieve sustainable excellence.

The increased adoption of “green leases” is playing a transformational role to streamline the greening process. One of the centerpieces of the SR Inc. webinar detailed a more sustainable leasing strategy with seven fundamental preferences in decision making:

1. Develop a portfolio-wide optimization strategy
2. Integrate alternative workplace strategies
3. Seek space in transportation adjacent existing buildings
4. Weigh renewal options
5. Weigh long-term lease options
6. Seek buildings with a third-party certified commitment to sustainability
7. Collaborate with landlords and tenants to advance greater sustainability

The most important aspect of the webinar was the introduction of a “Green Leasing” toolkit. These tools were introduced in DRAFT form pending SR Inc. Member-Client input/comment and are designed to be used by corporate directors of real estate and portfolio managers in the final phase of sustainable corporate real estate selection – the green lease itself. The tools within the toolkit included:

Site Selection Tool – outlines the steps to select a landlord with a commitment to sustainability and a site that has already achieved LEED, ENERGY STAR certification or a willingness to achieve sustainability certification.

Request for Proposal Tool – identifies tenant requirements for sustainability practices and distinguishes which green terms may be structured into the lease documents.

Letter of Intent Tool – highlights a tenant’s key green or sustainable lease issues and includes which green terms may be structured into the final lease document.

In addition to the green leasing guidance toolkit, SR Inc.’s breakthrough tools offer sample lease language for: 

• LEED or Other Green Building Certification
• Base Rent, Operating, and Capital Expenses
• Utility Consumption and Metering
• Data Collection and Information Sharing
• Waste Stream Management, Recycling and Janitorial Services
• Indoor Environmental Quality
• Parking and Alternative Transportation
• Environmentally Preferable Purchasing Policy
• Construction Obligations and Tenant Improvements
• Special Remedies for Violation of Green Lease Provisions

Overall, the toolkit emphasizes that a successful green lease is the result of a comprehensive negotiation process, in which sustainability practices are deliberately embedded in each phase of the lease lifecycle. The lease should reflect and memorialize the sustainability goals and obligations of both landlord and tenant as negotiated through prior documents.

The tools were developed in conjunction with SR Inc.’s Full Report – “More Sustainable Leased Space,” the “Global Sustainable Facilities Guidebook” for corporate occupiers and the “Global Guidebook on Sustainable Properties” for owners/investors.

In addition to the presentation of the SR Inc.’s newly developed toolkit there was a highly interactive discussion with comments from corporate executives at Apollo Group, AutoDesk, CapitalOne, Cisco, Intuit, McKesson, Mitre and Symantec as well as owner/occupier, Brandywine Realty Trust.

The movement to greater sustainability is evolving from its infancy with the leadership of innovative corporate and commercial real estate executives. And, now with tools developed by SR Inc. sustainability in leased space is becoming more cost effective and much easier to achieve.

If you would like to download the program presentation and an Executive Summary of “More Sustainable Leased Space” visit www.sustainround.com. To learn how SR Inc. can help organizations achieve greater sustainability portfolio-wide, please contact Larry Simpson, SR Inc.’s Executive Vice President of Advisory Services at larrysimpson@sustainround.com.

They just might be…

Various factors over the past decade have led to greater adoption of strategies to improve indoor air quality (IAQ) in office buildings as part of an overall sustainability portfolio program.

A growing body of scientific knowledge has raised awareness about the increased health risks for employees which lead to potentially significant liabilities, increased absenteeism, and reduced productivity.

New regulations and standards to improve IAQ have prompted greater adoption of IAQ strategies by leading companies, as have green building certification criteria that require addressing IEQ in order to obtain certification. The emergence of advanced green technologies, no- and low-emission green cleaning products, PVC-free carpet and water-based paints, have enabled leading companies to implement IAQ source-control strategies at a reduced cost with significant returns on investment.

At a recent client-meeting of the Sustainability Roundtable, Inc. (SR Inc.), Georgia Tech’s Dr. Charlene Bayer, who leads the ‘Health in Buildings Roundtable’, and SR Inc.’s Michael Gresty presented findings of their latest research on, “Managing Indoor Quality” which identified the link between IAQ and worker productivity. The highlights of the published research found:

•       Leading corporate users pursue IAQ management as part of their portfolio-wide sustainability strategy to reduce employee absenteeism and health care costs, improve productivity, reduce liability and regulatory risk, and improve brand and reputation.

•       Commercial real estate owners address IAQ management to improve competitiveness and ability to attract and retain tenants, increase property values, and reduce liability and regulatory risk.

•       Cost-benefit analysis has demonstrated the significant paybacks from improvements in building design, operation, and maintenance that address IAQ. Such improvements “may often exceed the costs by a factor of ten or more because worker salaries and benefits greatly exceed the costs to provide and operate buildings.”

•       Leading executives implement source reduction as the primary strategy for improved IAQ, establish policies for the use of ‘green’ construction materials in renovations and upgrades (e.g., carpets, paints, and furniture), utilize green cleaning chemicals and ban smoking inside and near buildings.

•       Leaders recognize the benefits of increased ventilation to dilute indoor contaminants and implement ventilation rates above the code requirements. Demand controlled ventilation, natural ventilation, mixed-mode ventilation, inclusion of enhanced filtration (both particulate and gas-phase), operational improvements and preventive maintenance are all proven approaches to reduce both energy costs and health complaints.

•       Leading companies monitor key indoor air contaminants like CO, CO2, ozone, particulate matter, and VOCs, and go beyond the mandatory and guideline limits to improve IAQ.

The research features case studies from Steelcase’s Corporate Development Center in Michigan; the Ridgehaven Office Building in San Diego, CA; the Philip Merrill Environmental Center in Annapolis MD; Royal Bank Building in Winnipeg, Canada; and, Georgia Tech’s campus buildings in Atlanta GA.

The research also provided recommended approaches to manage IAQ and improve indoor air quality in new or existing buildings that included:

1. Source reduction
2. Implement humidity control
3. Increase fresh air ventilation rate and overall air distribution in the space
4. Use enhanced filtration systems
5. Improved building maintenance
6. Behavior modification, occupant education

SR Inc.’s research demonstrates the importance to address indoor air quality as part of an overall sustainability strategy that is designed to create a healthier workplace for your company’s most valuable resource, your workforce.

If you would like to receive an Executive Summary of the research, “Managing Indoor Air Quality” please contact SR Inc.’s Larry Simpson, Executive Vice President, Advisory Services at larrysimpson@sustainround.com.

The Sustainability Roundtable, Inc. (SR Inc.) launched its new website on August 29th along with new corporate branding that includes resources for corporate real estate executives and owners to help their organizations move to greater sustainability.

The site, www.sustainround.com, features: an overview of SR Inc.’s service offerings; select client references and profiles; career opportunities; and a compendium of selected research, advisories and briefings available in SR Inc.’s “Digital Library” that clients value as vendor neutral decision support needed to help accelerate their move to more sustainable high performance

Visitors are encouraged to download the SR Inc.’s Quarterly Newsletters and complimentary Executive Summaries of representative examples of research including executive guidance on: “More Sustainable Leased Space,” “Integrated Alternative Workplace Strategies,” and “Advanced Energy Management Systems.”

SR Inc. is a shared-cost research and consulting company dedicated to accelerate the development and adoption and best practices in more sustainable business.  SR Inc.’s flagship Sustainable Real Estate Roundtable (“SRER”) service assists more than 200 Member Executives who are responsible for making well more than one billion square feet of real estate more sustainable.  Through SRER, SR Inc helps leading real estate executives identify, define, validate and implement management best practices in the move to greater sustainability throughout their owned and leased real estate portfolios.

Member-clients learn through SR Inc.’s vendor neutral management best practices research, conferencing and consulting support what has proven to work best in moving towards more sustainable high-performance in real estate.  Specifically, Member-clients learn ‘what works’ to apply the principles of a sustainability real estate strategy to reduce operating expenses portfolio-wide, enhance enterprise/asset value and align with their organization’s commitment to greater corporate sustainability.

To learn more about how SR Inc. enables and assists “Leaders Creating Value” and how SR Inc.’s their business service might assist you and help your enterprise move to greater sustainability, please feel free visit the new site, www.sustainround.com, and contact Larry Simpson, Executive Vice President of Advisory Services at larrysimpson@sustainround.com or 508-946-4750.

When companies develop a sustainability strategy to reduce operating expenses, among the first areas they address is the “low hanging fruit” of energy efficiency as it represents one of the largest cost buckets behind rent or debt service.

However, many or most organizations may not think about “picking up the watermelons lying on the floor” by partnering with their utility company to create an energy plan. Because power providers are incented by federal regulators they are required to extend rebates and provide cost saving programs as part of their service to rate payers.

In a Member-Only meeting of the Sustainability Roundtable, Inc., New England-based National Grid was featured to share some information about programs they offer to their customers. They cite that partnering with a utility provider to develop a long-term strategic energy plan includes:

• New initiative to meet aggressive energy saving goals
• Targets top quartile customers
• Sets long-term and high energy saving goals (road-map) for customers rather than ‘short-term’ ad-hoc upgrades
• Create (or modify) an organizational shift to how energy efficiency decisions are made within a large organization
• A financial model that enables a re-investment based cash flow positive structure for energy efficiency upgrades

Their presentation highlighted that, in addition to ‘triple bottom line’ energy planning, there are several other key areas they recommend organizations to address:

Financial – incentives, on-bill financing, investment criteria

Technical – benchmarking, energy use data, coordination with LEED standards

Operational – staff training, building certification, O&M guidelines

Other “green” measures – indoor air quality, day lighting, water savings, GHG tracking, productivity studies

The presenter during the program was National Grid’s Michael McAteer who said, “a significant opportunity exists for customers to maximize the technical expertise and achievable energy savings potential in their business environments by partnering with their utility. Adopting a comprehensive data driven approach to reduce operating costs with support from utilities is a smart move and provides valuable dividends to customers.”

McAteer suggested a process that you and your utility company could take might include:

• Establish contact with top management of large customers and the utility company
• Identify energy goals, financial criteria, and sign memo of understanding
• Identify/prioritize projects
• Benchmark existing use
• Implement measures and incentive payments
• Evaluate progress
• Develop long-term road map for the entire portfolio through “collaborative effort”
• Train operations staff, create case studies, and assist other studies (water savings, productivity, LEED etc.)

The key takeaways the SR Inc. program highlighted were:

• Leading companies that develop and implement portfolio-wide sustainability strategies prioritize scalable best practices in energy efficiency and energy cost reduction, and seek to maximize innovative financing, including utility benefits.
• Utilities are responding to market demand for a portfolio approach by looking beyond buildings, building systems, and technologies for opportunities to assist customers to reduce demand and consumption.
• The portfolio-wide approach enables customers and utilities to partner at a strategic level, and achieve greater reduction and savings a lower cost and in less time than a fragmented ‘Energy Conservation Measure’ or technology rebate approach.

As you embark on the green to gold treasure hunt or search for the proverbial ‘low hanging fruit’, be sure to reach out to your energy provider who is ready to help and can play an important role to address energy cost, save money and pick up some ‘watermelons.’

If you would like to receive a copy of National Grid’s presentation or to learn more about how you might forge a strategic partnership with your utility company, please contact me at larrysimpson@sustainround.com.

As part of an overall sustainability strategy, leading companies are innovating beyond traditional workspace practices and are evaluating shifts in the location of work, hours of work and schedule of work hours.

At a recent Client-Only meeting of the Sustainability Roundtable, Inc. (SR Inc.), new research on “Integrated Alternative Workplace Strategies” (AWS) was presented that found:

• Changing demographics, advances in technology, new business needs (24/7 service), globalization trends, and environmental considerations influence the move to greater mobility and accelerate the adoption of AWS.
• Leading companies implement AWS to reduce real estate operating costs and carbon footprint; retain and recruit top talent; increase human capital outcomes; enhance real estate and operational agility; and enhance their brand.
• Executives follow an iterative process to plan, implement, and evaluate AWS to maximize benefits.
• Executives deploy AWS on company-wide level after making a compelling business case, aligned with business goals, ensure departmental integration (RE, HR, IT, EH&S), conduct initial assessment, and test pilots.
• Executives integrate AWS into their company’s sustainability strategy; adopt options customized to meet their business goals and organizational culture to enhance sustainable value creation across the enterprise.

The organizational readiness of companies to adopt AWS differs and this impacts the level of employee mobility they are ready to embrace. SR Inc. classifies AWS into four types of solutions based on the level and mode of mobility:

Internal Mobility – working and moving within a dedicated office, group workstations, open office, and hoteling

External Mobility – working across multiple offices of the same company or home-based work, remote/satellite offices, and telework centers.

Virtual Office – full mobility and third places of cafes, libraries, airports, and client sites.

Fourth Generation Office – fully furnished flexible offices worldwide with outsourcing office and equipment provision to 3^rd parties. I.e. Regus, Metro Office, Workspace Group

SR Inc.’s research included case studies from American Express, AT&T, Cisco, GSA, Nortel and Oracle that highlighted lessons learned of:

• AWS aligns workplace and technology with the way employees already conduct work.
• Proactive stakeholder engagement is critical. This includes a cross‐functional team with start-to-finish support from RE, HR, IT and the C-suite and engaging employees.
• Building a legitimate business case, includes RE, HR, IT, and EH&S perspective as well as a real employee value proposition.
• Technology is available, mature, and effective. It is expected to advance significantly in the next several years, and therefore, companies can design for maximum IT flexibility
• Formal, comprehensive assessments of the program helps determine what works within the unique company’s context in order to make appropriate adjustments and maximize benefits.

As much as organizations are looking to AWS for the inherent benefits it is important to anticipate the needs to facilitate face-to-face interaction that can stimulate team building and knowledge exchange.

SR Inc.’s Senior Sustainability Analyst, Irina Mldenova, says, “companies across industry sectors find it necessary to revisit their workplace strategies to accommodate evolving working needs. Those who are unwilling will find it challenging to retain top talent, improve collaboration and innovativeness, and ensure low costs. One issue executives still struggle with is capturing space utilization accurately and attributing real estate and GHG footprint optimization or reduction specifically attributed to AWS. Another issue that companies still need to address more directly is how to adapt standard AWS practices company-wide level to local culture and practices.”

If you would like to learn more about how AWS could become part of your company’s sustainability strategy, feel free to down load the Executive Summary of “Integrated Alternative Workplace Strategies” at http://sustainround.com/research/AWS.php.

Many top companies have developed a sustainability strategy to enhance enterprise value, reduce operating expenses, limit risk, and align with stakeholder expectations. 

Corporate real estate portfolios, which typically consist mostly of leased space, are often keystones in these strategies, as real estate leaders seek to improve operational efficiencies, reduce environmental impacts, and create work environments conducive to productivity and retaining/recruiting top talent.

While the move to more sustainable leased space is gathering momentum, many challenges remain. Recent research by the Sustainability Roundtable, Inc. (SR Inc.), entitled “How Leaders are Moving to More Sustainable Leased Space,” cited the following barriers to implementation:

• Perceived cost premium for more sustainable space
• Limited tenant leverage in smaller leases
• Lack of relevant KPIs, benchmarks and metrics
• Few reliable sources of information about best practices
• Lack of a single solution and the need for incremental innovation
• High hurdle rates based on ROI expectations

The research includes information on best practices on ‘green leases,’ and features case studies from Gensler, Brandywine Realty Trust, Equity Office, Akamai Technologies, Autodesk, and the General Services Administration.

Discussing the research findings, Michael Gresty, SR Inc.’s Executive Vice President of Research and Consulting, notes that, “leading companies have found ways to design, build and even certify more sustainable leased space at little or no cost premium. The most experienced among them, such as Adobe, are consistently pursuing LEED-CI Platinum level certification, because they have proven that the benefits exceed those of basic certification. However, the barriers to adoption identified in our research are real, and can only be overcome by persistent efforts and greater collaboration between corporate tenants and landlords, and further efforts to negotiate win-win solutions in green leases.” 

The key takeaways of the research presentation include:

Leased Space is an Opportunity not an Obstacle – Tenants and landlords can find common ground based on sustainability to reduce costs, risks, and, together, create enterprise value.

Adapt to Mainstreaming of Sustainability – Corporate Tenants, Investors, Advisors, and Owners, recognize that sustainability has become a mainstream concern, that there is no cost premium, and they can innovate within their organizations to adapt.

Overcome Market Barriers – Tenants and landlords still face institutional and cultural barriers to more sustainable leased space; leaders have adopted proven strategies to overcome them, including ‘green’ leases.

Develop an Integrated Strategy – Companies that adopt a cross-disciplinary strategy using Integrated Project Delivery methodology rather than trying to ‘green’ conventional design and management methodologies can maximize sustainable value.

If you would like to receive a copy of the presentation, email Larry Simpson at larrysimpson@sustainround.com.