Green Leasing
Green Lease Leaders program overview
Green Lease Leaders is a three year recognition program for landlords, tenants, and teams who integrate green leasing into their standard practices. The program includes three levels of recognition: Silver, Gold, and Platinum.
Green leases
Through the Green Lease Leaders program, green leases have become a proven tool for those wanting to improve the sustainability and energy-efficiency of their spaces, unlocking win-win investments for landlords and tenants with energy-aligned clauses. Green leases by definition are leases with clauses and operational procedures that advance efficient and carbon neutral buildings.
Green leasing benefits
Green leases can reduce an office building’s utility costs by 22%, and up to $0.51 per square foot in commercial buildings.
Save up to 22% on your utility costs
Make progress towards completing your ESG and science-based goals
Leverage the lease to comply with building performance standard targets
Maximize flexibility with your real estate operations
Create a collaborative relationship with your building owner or tenant
Gain national recognition for your innovative and sustainable leasing practices
Get data for energy and water reporting
How lease types compare
Landlord-tenant relationship
Transactional and impersonal: Traditional leases negotiate separate priorities for landlord and tenant, and do not seek to align opportunities for improved operations.
Investing in efficiency
Split-incentive challenges: Typical leases landlord incurs capital expenses investing in energy retrofits to their building, tenant soften receive the monetary benefits of reduced operating expenses without contributing to the initial capital expense.
Tenant fit-out
Inefficient tenant fit-out: Traditional leases do not require tenants fit-outs to incorporate energy efficient design.
Operations
Sustainable operations are not prioritized: Traditional leases rarely outline how either party will improve building performance through efficient design and operations.
Tracking and reporting
Monitoring building performance: Traditional leases where tenant has direct control of utility services, the lease lack provisions allowing the owner to track whole energy and water performance.
Landlord-tenant relationship
Provide sustainability contact and/or information: Green Leases identify a point of contact and or method for sharing sustainability information to tenants on an ongoing basis.
Investing in efficiency
Cost recovery clause: Green Leases amortize and recoup capital costs for energy-efficient improvements made to the building and common areas and share the long-term savings and efficiency by both parties.
Tenant fit-out
ENERGY STAR for Tenant Spaces: Green leases require tenants to design to the ENERGY STAR for Tenant Spaces standards.
Operations
Landlord energy-management best practices: Green leases implement energy-management best practices in base building systems and common areas to reduce energy waste and operating costs.
Tracking and reporting
Track and disclose energy and water performance: Green leases track common area energy and water consumption and disclose performance to tenants and/or investors.
Landlord-tenant relationship
Ongoing communications with tenants: Performance-based leases meeting with tenants monthly or quarterly to review energy performance and mitigate performance issues as they arise.
Investing in efficiency
Efficiency investments by tenant: Performance-based leases reward tenants who design and operate their space efficiently with an energy bonus in the form of reduced rent and or lower operating expenses.
Tenant fit-out
Energy consumption limits: Performance-based lease require tenants to design and operate their spaces to an energy consumption limit, which is their allocated share of the power available to the building. This limit is calculated from the performance goal set by the local law requirements.
Operations
Landlord-tenant energy-management best practices: Performance-based lease holds both parties accountable for their energy and water uses by implementing energy-management best practices for base building, common area and tenant spaces to reduce energy waste, operating expenses and meet local law and government requirements.
Tracking and reporting
Track, verify, and disclose energy and water performance: Performance-based leases perform continuous monitoring of landlord and tenant systems via periodic recommissioning studies, develop and execute short-term mitigation plans, financial and allocated landlord and tenant roles and responsibilities.