Is Your Building LEED certified?

• Newly constructed buildings that are LEED certified have higher occupancy than non-LEED certified
• Newly constructed buildings that are LEED certified rent for a higher dollar amount per square feet than non-LEED certified buildings
• Market demand for new buildings that are LEED-certified is higher than for non-LEED certified buildings

Well you might be wondering what is LEED. Well, LEED is Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design.

It is basically a third-party certification program. It is a nationally accepted organization for design, operation and construction of high performance green buildings. This ensures the buildings are environmentally compatible, provide a healthy work environment and are profitable.

LEED certified buildings are commanding higher rental rates and great occupancy than the non-green buildings. This trend cannot help but impact the Investment community. The supply while gradually increasing is not keeping up with the demand for green buildings. LEED buildings are awarded points for sustainability for things like energy-efficient lighting, low-flow plumbing fixtures and collection of water to name a few.

Well the reasons why LEED certified buildings are more in demand is because of he following reasons,

• Those of us who populate those buildings can feel good about the part we are doing to help the environment and preserve what is left of the environment after years and years of taking natural resources for granted.

• Green technology as it continues to catch on will generate additional jobs and challenge conventional wisdoms. Look what happened in the auto industry with the electric cars. It didn't really catch on despite the fact that many who had the opportunity to test drive them wanted to keep them. Instead they were basically scrapped because of big business. Now we have hybrids and more and more companies are looking for ways to create cars that are more environmentally friendly.

• Green technology will also stimulate job-market growth, and open up new business venues as it continues to catch on. Just like any other market, competition is healthy and a monopoly is not.

So I hope that next time you construct a building, you will make it a point to get it LEED Certified.