Sustainability Now In Session

Green legislation is on the rise, as discussed by IREM members

by Janice Rosenberg

The following is an excerpt from the Mar/Apr 2008 issue (Volume 73, Number 2) of JPM®, Journal of Property Management.

In cities and states across the country, slowly but surely green legislation is catching on. Meanwhile property managers and urban planners are ahead of the curve, working toward sustainability and energy efficiency even before laws require them to conform.

For instance, last year CB Richard Ellis (CBRE), a real estate services firm headquartered in Los Angeles, resolved that 100 of its top buildings would be in the EPA’s Energy Star Program by the end of 2007. More than just talk, the company was making a firm commitment; by year’s end, CBRE had met its goal.

“Two years ago people wondered if green management was `for real,’” said Patricia Nooney, CPM, CBRE’s managing director. “But now we know it really is the trend of the future. The acceptance is there from the larger community. Our clients want to know what CBRE is doing for the environment and what they, as building owners, can do to help.”

CBRE isn’t alone in its efforts. Just eight years after the first pilot projects received certification from the U.S. Green Building Council’s (USGBC) Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System - a nationally accepted benchmark for the design, construction and operation of high-performance green buildings - green tops the agenda for everyone in the industry.

The Latest on Legislation

Green legislation is on the rise at all governmental levels. According to the USGBC, 13 federal agencies, 27 states, 72 cities, 22 counties and 16 towns have passed various types of green legislation. Governments are beginning to recognize that buildings have a strong negative impact on the environment, said Jason Hartke, the USGBC’s director of advocacy and public policy.

“The most predominate legislative policy we see is one requiring public buildings to be built green,” Hartke said.

According to the USGBC, in the United States, buildings account for 70 percent of all electric use and 40 percent of all carbon emissions. But truly green buildings, those receiving LEED Certification, can save 36 percent in energy, reduce carbon emissions by 40 percent, reduce water use by 40 percent and reduce the production of solid waste by 70 percent.

Local Legislation

The status of green legislation at the local level is impressive, said Brooks Rainwater, manager, state and local affairs, at the American Institute of Architects (AIA) in Washington. The organization’s 2007 report, Local Leaders in Sustainability, indicates that the number of local green building programs has risen more than 400 percent since 2003, with a total of at least 92 cities now having policies in place.

In surveying all U.S. cities with populations greater than 50,000, the AIA found 42 municipal programs in the West, eight in the Mountain West, 14 in the Central Region and 28 in the Eastern Region of the country. Programs range from policies focused on the design and construction of green government buildings, to communities mandating that all buildings be designed to green standards, to more specific approaches.

For instance, legislation in Monterey, Calif., lists steps that must be taken to address the breakdown of old clay pipes in a municipal sewer system dating back to the late 1800s. Problems in the system can negatively effect wildlife in Monterey Bay, so whenever a house is sold, its new owner is required by law to solve any sewage problems.

Sylvia Hill, CPM, and owner of H.M.S. Property Management in San Jose, Calif., manages a number of homes in the Monterey area. She recommends that new owners of those properties do the work immediately.

“It costs a couple of thousand dollars, but if an owner doesn’t take care of it, and they have a backup into the street and then down to the Bay, they can be fined several thousand [dollars],” Hill said.

The full article is available as an online exclusive in the Mar/Apr 2008 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.