Contact: Chris Potter, 202-525-2883, x311 / chris@imt.org
THE APPLICATION PERIOD FOR THE 2016 GREEN LEASE LEADERS RECOGNITION PROGRAM OFFICIALLY STARTS TODAY. REAL ESTATE FIRMS, LANDLORDS, TENANTS, AND BROKERS ACHIEVING ENERGY AND DOLLAR SAVINGS THROUGH SMART LEASING PRACTICES ARE ENCOURAGED TO APPLY.
Washington, DC—Today, the Institute for Market Transformation (IMT) and the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Better Buildings Alliance kicked off the 2016 Green Lease Leaders recognition program. Commercial brokers, landlords, and tenants across the globe who successfully use the lease to tear down traditional barriers to energy efficiency—to help all parties save money, enhance operations, and conserve resources—are strongly encouraged to apply. Winners will join a diverse and distinguished group of recipients of the Green Lease Leaders award, and will be given an official seal for placement within their buildings and for use in their sustainability marketing efforts.
Brand new to this year’s Green Lease Leaders is the Team Transaction award, which will be given to groups of stakeholders who collaborate on an individual transaction to incorporate sustainability elements into the operations of a leased space.
“The team transaction awards were created this year by our industry steering committee as a way to recognize those times when all parties come together to push the boundaries of energy efficiency in commercial space. We hope to see applications that show how bold steps forward in an individual green lease can point the way towards whole portfolio transformation,” said Adam Sledd, Director of Market Engagement at IMT.
The 2016 program application can be found at www.greenleaseleaders.com and the deadline to submit is May 18th.The 2016 group of recognized firms and brokers will be announced at BOMA’s International Conference & Expo in June. “BOMA International applauds the continued success of the Green Lease Leaders program and is proud to support its work in the area of sustainability in commercial real estate,” said BOMA International Chair Kent C. Gibson, BOMA Fellow, president of Capstone Property Management, L.C. “We look forward to hosting this year’s awards at the 2016 BOMA International Conference & Expo this June in Washington, D.C.”
The Green Lease Leaders program, which has been supported by the DOE Better Buildings Alliance since its inception, offers guidelines and standards for the commercial real estate sector to adopt green lease clauses that reduce tension over responsibilities and cost-sharing arrangements for energy efficiency improvements. The program highlights innovative leasing practices such as incentivizing efficient tenant build-outs and increasing energy data transparency. IMT believes these lease changes can lead to significant cost savings. A 2015 IMT study, “What’s in a Green Lease?,” found that green leases have the potential to save the U.S. office market $3.3 billion annually, cutting energy consumption by up to 22 percent in leased buildings.
Current Green Lease Leaders own or manage over 800 million square feet of combined property and have buildings on four different continents. Their green leasing strategies have been applied across nearly every major property type, including office, retail space, and manufacturing sites. Last year, the program recognized six commercial property brokers for their pioneering work helping clients sign green leases.
“Receiving the Green Lease Leader designation has had a positive impact on my business. I’ve received a number of calls and emails on the recognition and have at least one new client due in part to the award,”said Meade Boutwell, Senior Vice President at CBRE and a winner of last year’s broker award. “It’s also increased my awareness among the sustainability community,” he added.
Brokers like Boutwell and other forward-thinking real estate practitioners are seeing that sustainability-focused changes to standard lease language not only help reduce electricity and water consumption, but it also improves tenant comfort and allows for the better control over operating expenses while minimizing waste. One of last year’s Green Lease Leaders, NEO Realty Group, uses green lease language as a foundation for creating higher-quality and more-efficient spaces for their new tenants. After performing energy audits within their tenant spaces, NEO funds energy conservation measures, and uses green lease terms to recapture a portion of the energy savings to repay their capital costs, before passing remaining savings onto their tenants.
“The continued success of Green Lease Leaders demonstrates the importance of fostering a strong relationship between tenants and landlords on energy efficiency and sustainability. Award winners are using the lease as a contractual mechanism to help reduce total occupancy costs, drive tenant retention, and win business. We applaud the successful strategies being employed by this year’s applicants,” said Jason Hartke, Program Manager of Commercial Buildings Integration at DOE.
The program application can be found at www.greenleaseleaders.com and the 2016 application deadline is May 18th. The 2016 group of recognized firms and brokers will be announced at BOMA’s International Conference & Expo in Washington, DC on June 26-28, 2016.
The 2015 Green Lease Leaders were:
Tenants
• Capital One
• TD Bank
Landlords
• Bentall-Kennedy
• Boston Properties
• Cadillac Fairview
• Deutsche Asset & Wealth Management
• Forest City
• NEO Realty Group
• Shorenstein
• TIAA-CREF
• Weingarten Realty
Commercial Brokers
• Brant Smith, NEO Realty Group
• Greta Garner, Green Coast Realty
• Laurie McMahon, Cushman & Wakefield
• Meade Boutwell, CBRE
• Randy Harrell, CBRE
• Sally Wilson, Newmark Grubb Knight Frank
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ABOUT IMT: The Institute for Market Transformation (IMT) is a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit organization promoting energy efficiency, green building, and environmental protection in the United States and abroad. IMT’s work addresses market failures that inhibit investment in energy efficiency and sustainability in the building sector. For more information, visit imt.org and follow us on Twitter at @IMT_speaks.