New York, NY, Apr. 26--Widespread use of green and sustainable real estate development hinges on convincing the land use industry that applying the practices makes sound business sense, from energy savings to added property value, according to industry experts at a roundtable discussion recently co-hosted by the Urban Land Institute.
The roundtable, which focused on moving green and sustainable development techniques into the mainstream, included a variety of public officials and private-sector representatives from the development, investment, brokerage and environmental conservation communities. "This (the green and sustainable development movement) is about changing behavior," said Roundtable Chairman Kenneth W. Hubbard, executive vice president of Hines in New York City. "Sustainability is the single most important movement facing architecture and design…Corporations have to press their leadership and architects to understand that good architecture is green architecture."
The Hines real estate organization is known worldwide for its extraordinary green buildings. Since 1992, the company has been a partner in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Energy Star program, which recognizes projects meeting EPA standards for superior energy management and conservation. Hines' projects have received more than 70 Energy Star Label awards. Companies such as Hines can show through their buildings a "clear connection between quality, prestige and success," helping build industry recognition that "by going green, you have the opportunity to be on the edge, but not out on a limb," noted Roger Platt, chairman of ULI's Sustainable Development Council.
According to Rick Fedrizzi, president of Green-Think LLC in Syracuse, NY, and a member of the World Green Building Council, there is a pressing need for more research and education to raise awareness of the benefits of green building among the industry and the public. When the council was established, its advocacy of green building was based entirely on environmental issues, and as a result, "there was little interest," Fedrizzi said. Now, the council focuses on such bottom-line benefits as optimal building performance, reduced operating costs, improved employee productivity, enhanced asset value, reduced electricity consumption and improved indoor quality.
"To attract and engage the necessary funding for green buildings, you absolutely must make the business case," Fedrizzi said.
While the council continues to recognize the environmental good accomplished by green building, its ranking of the benefits starts with economic, followed by health, community (in terms of minimizing strain on infrastructure), and environmental.
In addition to Energy Star, the other pre-eminent green building-rating program in the United States is the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) system developed in 1999 by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), which is part of the World Green Building Council. Fedrizzi credited the LEED program with spurring USGBC membership. The council explains LEED "as the equivalent of miles per gallon for buildings," he said.
A building with a LEED certification is branded as one that "treads lightly on the planet," which is appealing to a growing number of environmentally conscious consumers, Fedrizzi noted.
In 2003, a report on the costs and benefits of green buildings was prepared by Capital E, a clean technology strategy firm, in partnership with the USGBC and California's Sustainable Building Task Force. According to Gregory Kats, founding principal of Capital E, the report showed that green buildings cost an average of two percent more to build. Generally, the report found, the earlier the green building features are incorporated, the lower the cost. The report also determined that green buildings use, on average, 36 percent less energy than conventional buildings. "More data allows people who are risk averse to take steps toward it (green building)," Kats said.
Gary Jay Saulson, director of corporate real estate for PNC Financial Services Group in Pittsburgh, discussed the company's decision to incorporate green building techniques in the PNC Firstside Center, which has a silver LEED rating. The 647,000-square-foot building, completed in 2001, includes raised flooring that makes the workspace flexible to reconfigure. The carpet contains 72 percent recycled material, and the material for hard floor surfaces is 100 percent recycled, made from sawdust and soda bottles. The decision to build green entailed substantial material and design changes from the original plans, which were for conventional construction, but Saulson said he was "determined to figure out how to do it, not how not to do it."
The daylit interiors afford 90 percent of the occupants with an outdoor view. The urban infill site is adjacent to a bike trail and a light rail transit stop and has helped to revitalize the downtown area. "Why put employees in a black box when you can put them in an environment where they want to go to work? At PNC, our sick days are down…The (building) environment has taken over for them and productivity is up," Saulson said. "Going green has been a way for us to differentiate our office buildings from others."
