Green leases are leases with clauses and operational procedures that advance efficient and carbon neutral buildings.
Green leases, also known as “high-performance” or “energy-aligned” leases, revolutionize the rental negotiation process by creating win-win agreements for building owners and tenants that equitably align the costs and benefits of energy and water efficiency investments for both parties.
Green Leasing Resources
Developed by IMT with support from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Better Buildings Alliance, the Green Lease Leaders recognition program sets national standards for what constitutes a green lease, while honoring leaders in the field who are actively and effectively using the lease as a smart tool to drive greater investment in high-performance buildings and reap growing energy and resource savings. Want to speak to an IMT staff member to learn more about the Green Lease Leaders recognition? Connect with us.
The Green Lease Library provides a one-stop-shop for real estate, law, and sustainability professionals who seek guidance, best practices, tools, and models on how to incorporate energy efficiency and sustainability into the lease. The library is organized by resource type, and resources are tagged by relevance to audience and building types. This valuable online resource is the result of a collaboration among several stakeholders and pioneers in the green leasing community, and is maintained by IMT.
This document consolidates a variety of green lease language options for more efficiently designed and operated spaces. Landlords and tenants should use the language suggested in this document as they create their own green leases. Many of the examples will need to be edited or amended to fit each individual building or property needs and specifications to reap maximum return.
Local governments are increasingly turning to building performance standards as a way to meet their climate commitments. However, traditional lease structures create a number of hurdles, such as misaligned incentives for landlords and tenants, to improve building operations to meet new performance requirements. The best solution is to replace inefficient traditional leases with high-performing, performance-based ones. IMT’s performance-based leasing toolkit helps both landlords and commercial tenants get started.
