Green Building's D'oh! Moment

Here's some "shocking" news about energy efficient commercial buildings.

Apparently, they actually have higher occupancy rates, lower operating costs, increased rental rates, and higher sales values than more conventional structures.

This is based on new reports released by the New Buildings Institute (NBI) and the CoStar Group.

According to the NBI study, LEED certified or Energy Star Rated buildings save about 25-30% more energy than the national average. The CoStar study shows that "LEED buildings command rent premiums of $11.33 per square foot over their non-LEED peers, and have 4.1% higher occupancy. Rental rates in Energy Star buildings represent a $2.40 per square foot premium over comparable non-Energy Star buildings, and have 3.6% higher occupancy." And, "Energy Star buildings are selling for an average of $61 per square foot more than their peers, while LEED buildings command a remarkable $171 more per square foot."

How obvious does this need to be? The trends are being spelled out in front of us, and yet there still are many people who haven't realized that all future building and retrofitting will need to be green. Sure, there are many who are already saying, "Duh."

But at some point, there will be a lot of owners sitting around with empty, obsolete buildings saying, "D'oh!"

Jonathan A. Schein is President and CEO of ScheinMedia, a diversified media company who's holdings include New York House Magazine, New Jersey & Company and FlierWire.com. He offers insights into the philosophy and business of green in his weekly newsletter.

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