Given the state of the economy, LEED certification has grown rapidly in the commercial real estate arena, mainly driven by owners seeking to reduce operating costs while gaining a competitive advantage in the marketplace.
And while certification is relatively easy to achieve for owner-occupied and single-tenant buildings, it’s more challenging for multitenant buildings to earn the designation.
Multitenant building owners can avoid common pitfalls and attain LEED certification by focusing on the communication, coordination and documentation of LEED initiatives.
The U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED Green Building Rating System is the industry standard for the design, construction and operation of green buildings. The LEED rating system for Existing Buildings: Operations and Maintenance (EBOM) addresses how buildings are used and managed. It looks at issues such as green cleaning policies and how occupants travel to work, rather than building design or materials selection.
To that end, any existing commercial building that meets basic energy and water efficiency prerequisites can become LEED-certified if owners and tenants are willing to adopt green practices.
LEED certification, however, applies to the whole building and all of its tenants, so buildings with multiple tenants need the cooperation of multiple office managers, workers and vendors. Here are three steps to help owners get the most out of their “greening” bucks by working collaboratively with their tenants:
Communicate Early End Often
Building owners should initiate a dialogue about LEED certification with tenants as early in the process as possible. This will allow owners to gauge who’s on board and which tenants may be hesitant to participate. Tenants need time to become familiar with the LEED rating system. Only then can they choose to implement credit requirements (such as purchase and waste tracking), set management plans in place and gather documentation. As the building enters the performance period, owners will need to keep tenants involved in the process. If the building is located in an urban setting, chances are owners will be pursuing alternative transportation points. This will require an occupant survey and need to be discussed with tenants.
Coordinate Efforts
A system for data collection needs to be established early. Owners should designate the responsible party for each credit and put mechanisms in place to collect the required information monthly. If the budget allows, hire an experienced LEED consultant who can serve as both certification coordinator and go-to expert for credit advice. Additionally, owners need to be certain green language is written into the lease for any new tenants or tenant renewals. This will start to phase in mandatory participation in building efforts such as e-waste collection.
Don’t Forget To Document
The LEED application review is a surprisingly streamlined online process. But behind each credit template will be supporting documentation that must be produced in the event of an audit. Collecting, sorting and storing this information can become time consuming unless an organized system is put in place early.
Thankfully, all LEED EBOM credits allow a 10 percent floor area exemption for multitenant buildings. Thus, if building owners are close to achieving certain credits but just can’t get that last pesky tenant to cooperate, they can exclude that portion of the building as long as that area is less than 10 percent of the building’s gross floor area.
Finally, building owners must remember that LEED EBOM certification is good for five years. After that, the building will have to be recertified. While recertification builds on the initial certification, it represents an opportunity to pick up additional credits and possibly move up a certification level. Tenants may have adopted new green initiatives during the interim. Owners should not assume credits that were initially unachievable will still be in five years.
LEED certification can be tricky to navigate with multitenant buildings since there are numerous parties involved. But with a little extra effort, owners can achieve certification for their buildings and gain a competitive edge that is critical in today’s market.
Katie Raymond is the technical director of Sustainability Services at Burlington-based EBI Consulting, www.ebiconsulting.com
