Certifiably Green

Obtaining LEED certification for a green building can be a daunting task, but more managers are finding the rewards well worth the challenge

by Katie Zezima

The following is an excerpt from the Mar/Apr 2007 issue (Volume 72, Number 2) of JPM^®, Journal of Property Management.

When property manager Kathy McKenna Harmon, CPM, with McGough Development in St. Paul, Minn., first heard the phrase "green building," she thought it referred to the building's color. But during construction of her company's first green building she realized environmentally-friendly construction would, in the long run, save money and help the earth.

"We saw LEED as a marketing advantage, and we wanted to set a standard of quality in the Twin Cities," Harmon said. “It was the right thing to do.”

The company has since gone on to green other projects, and most recently it developed a green residential building. The project, called Reflections at Bloomington Central Station, is not just philosophically eco-friendly. It is certified eco-friendly under the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System.

The LEED rating system is a voluntary system setting uniform standards for real estate professionals interested in introducing environmentally sound elements to their buildings. The number of certified buildings has taken off as conserving energy to save money and “going green” have become the industry buzz.

As of October 2006, 622 buildings in the United States and Canada had received LEED certification, according to U.S. Green Building Council information; of those buildings 485 are new construction. That number is a jump from the 38 new construction projects certified in 2000. More than 4,000 additional buildings of all types have applied for certification and are waiting for approval.

"I believe if property managers don't get on board with green building and green managing, they're going to be dinosaurs," said Amy Smith, a property manager with Opus Northwest Property Management in Denver. "More and more tenants are requesting it, and more managers are too because they see the value with tenants."

The LEED rating system was established in 2000 by the U.S. Green Building Council with the mission of providing the building industry with consistent, credible standards for what constitutes a green structure, driving the construction industry to a more sustainable way of building. The rating system applies to new construction, existing buildings, core and shell, and commercial interiors. A pilot program for homes is also in effect.

“[Having the different categories] is a way of being responsible and responsive to the market,” said Carmen Britz, a LEED accredited professional and project manager for EGIS Certified in Seattle. “Once you have those different standards, it’s easier for people to incorporate green elements into their specific properties. The easier you make it, the more penetration you will have in the community.”

The goal of LEED is to ensure a structure is an entirely environmentally friendly unit, rather than a building with piecemeal green elements like low-flush toilets or solar panels.

LEED projects are extremely integrated, as mechanical designers, architects, owners and real estate managers must collaborate in order for the systems to function together and achieve sustainability and maximize efficiency. Britz said aside from scoring points on the rating system scale, integration makes for a higher quality building and results in cost savings because of the reduction in energy use.

“Integrated design is a basic principle of LEED and it has to be considered,” Britz said.
“What you do in one aspect of the building might affect another aspect of the building; All these things have to be balanced.”

The full article is available as an online exclusive in the Mar/Apr 2007 JPM® issue.

IREM Members have free access to the JPM® online archives and the “Online Exclusives,” articles that are only available on the IREM Web site. Non-members can subscribe to JPM® at www.irem.org/jpm.