Landlords and Tenants Set New Terms through Green Lease Leaders Program

Author:

Alexandra Laney

Date Published:

June 8, 2020

Winners of the 2020 Green Lease Leaders program, organized by the Institute for Market Transformation and the U.S. Department of Energy Better Buildings Alliance, show a path forward on cost-savings, sustainability and closer landlord-tenant relationships.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT:

Alexandra Laney, Institute for Market Transformation, (202) 525-2883 X301; alexandra@imt.org

U.S. Department of Energy Press Office, DOENews@hq.doe.gov 

Washington, D.C. (June 8, 2020) – Today, the Institute for Market Transformation (IMT) and the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Better Buildings Alliance announced the 2020 Green Lease Leaders at the Better Buildings, Better Plants Summit, a virtual leadership symposium for commercial real estate professionals. Launched by IMT and the DOE Better Buildings Alliance in 2014, Green Lease Leaders set national standards for what constitutes a green lease, while recognizing landlords and tenants who modernize their leases to spur collaborative action on cost-savings, health, renewable energy and sustainability in buildings.

This year’s Green Lease Leaders represent portfolios totaling more than 1 billion square feet (sq. ft.) and comprise a diverse range of buildings from large and small commercial offices to industrial buildings to data centers. Altogether, Green Lease Leaders manage nearly 3 billion square feet of commercial and government space across North America, representing a huge potential for growth in green leases.  In the commercial sector alone, green leasing has the potential to affect 8 percent of leased space nationwide.

 “Green Lease Leaders are transforming the real estate industry and buildings across the country with leases that help landlords and tenants benefit from lower costs while modernizing their workplaces,” said Maria T. Vargas, Director of the Better Buildings Initiative and the US Department of Energy. “We appreciate their partnership and congratulate this year’s winners.”

“In times of change, we must look to collaborative solutions, and that is exactly what a green, high-performance lease does,” said Lotte Schlegel, Executive Director at IMT. “These leases fix split incentives with agreements that save everyone money, improve indoor air quality, and lock in efficient, sustainable, and smart building operations. In aggregate, these leases can spur even greater positive outcomes for our cities and our economy, like cost savings for landlords and tenants, clean energy, decarbonization, local jobs, and closer landlord-tenant relationships.”

IMT estimates that green leases can help reduce utility bills by up to approximately 50 cents per square foot (22 percent) in U.S. office buildings alone. If all leased office buildings executed green leases, the market could reap over $3 billion in annual cost savings.

The 2020 Green Lease Leaders are:

Landlord – Gold Recognition

  • Boston Properties
  • Brandywine Realty Trust
  • Brixmor
  • City of Fort Collins, CO
  • Clarion Partners
  • Digital Realty
  • Empire State Realty Trust
  • Jamestown
  • LaSalle Investment Management
  • Physicians Realty Trust
  • Principal Real Estate Investors
  • SL Green Realty Corp.
  • STAG Industrial
  • WashREIT
  • Welltower, Inc.

Landlord – Silver Recognition

  • Aligned Energy
  • First Capital REIT
  • Hillsborough County, Tampa FL
  • Morgan Stanley
  • Regency Centers
  • Rexford Industrial Realty, LLP
  • Tishman Speyer

Tenant – Gold Recognition

  • Latham & Watkins
  • MasterCard
  • State of California
  • Ulta Salon, Cosmetics & Fragrance, Inc.

Team Transaction Recognition

  • Kilroy Realty Corporation, Cushman & Wakefield and Allen Matkins

Becoming a Green Lease Leader

To receive Green Lease Leaders recognition, organizations must meet two prerequisites and earn five or more credits for best practices such as utility data tracking and sharing, cost recovery for efficiency-related capital improvements, sustainability training, and energy efficiency fit-out requirements for tenant spaces, among others. The application period to be recognized in 2021 is now open and will close in March 2021. To receive one-on-one guidance for greening your lease or support for becoming a Green Lease Leader, contact IMT and DOE staff here.

Commercial, industrial, data centers and retail landlords and tenants, as well as transaction teams (a combination of landlord, tenants or brokers for a single real estate deal) are eligible for recognition. Designees must reapply once every three years to maintain their Green Lease Leader status.

Learn more about Green Lease Leaders

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ABOUT THE INSTITUTE FOR MARKET TRANSFORMATION:

The Institute for Market Transformation (IMT) is a national 501(c)(3) nonprofit that aims to decarbonize buildings by catalyzing widespread and sustained demand for high-performance buildings. Founded in 1996 and based in Washington, D.C., IMT leverages its expertise in the intersection of real estate and public policy to make buildings more productive, affordable, valuable, and resilient.

ABOUT THE BETTER BUILDINGS ALLIANCE:

The Better Buildings Alliance is a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) effort to promote energy efficiency in U.S. commercial buildings through collaboration with building owners, operators, and managers. Members of the Better Buildings Alliance commit to addressing energy efficiency needs in their buildings by setting energy savings goals, developing innovative energy efficiency resources, and adopting advanced cost-effective technologies and market practices.

Categories:

Green Lease Leaders