GREEN LEASES
CarbonEES® can help organisations implement and verify green leases.
The key concepts in any green lease are:
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rent structure and operating expenses
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build out of tenant improvements
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sustainable development principles and regulations (throughout the building or larger development)
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the use and disposal of hazardous materials, including cleaning supplies, recycling
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environmental management plans.
A green lease generally details environmentally friendly products to be used, water and energy conservation methods and targets, the use of alternative sources of energy on-site, such as solar or wind, indoor air quality standards, and dispute resolution procedures.
As the generally perceived benefits of leasing a green building or tenant space are (a) increased worker productivity, (b) profitability through long-term utility cost savings, and (c) reputation enhancement, to both customers and potential employees, there is a strong economic focus in entering into such an arrangement.
One of the challenging aspects of a green lease is being able to verify if both parties are meeting the conditions of the lease. Often there are mutually binding clauses in the lease that constrain both the landlord and the tenant to improve the performance of their respective parts of the building as the term of the lease progresses. For example it may be a requirement on the landlord to continue to improve the effectiveness of the base HVAC system in terms of air quality, but in doing so to not increase the energy intensity of the plant. The tenant may be required to reduce the plug load over the term of the lease by replacing old energy consuming devices with newer, more efficient models.
As our software system e-Bench® separates a building into landlord and tenanted areas, it can be used as an independent tool to verify if both parties are meeting their obligations under the green lease.