Page 140 - Green Building Through Integrated Design

WHO BENEFITS 117

Political

Political benefits might be seen as a subset of marketing and public relations bene-
fits, but I’d like green builders to consider them as separate, both for a local political
body, as well as for developers relying on public approval for acquiring development
entitlements and even design approval and building permits for specific projects. On
Earth Day 2008, I saw a spate of political announcements taking place at green build-
ings, where mayors and various public officials took advantage of the day to pro-
nounce their support for green buildings. In Los Angeles, for example, Mayor
Antonio Villaraigosa announced the LEED Gold certification of the Luma condo-
miniums in the downtown area.* The project expects to save 30 percent of energy
compared with a traditional building and is part of a major new high-rise housing
development just south of downtown Los Angeles, for which all the buildings will be
LEED Gold certified.

Who Benefits?

One of the biggest issues in green buildings is that the benefits are unequally distrib-
uted between those who pay for the project and those who benefit. For example, the
benefits of green schools accrue most directly to the students, but it’s the school dis-
trict (and the taxpayers) who incur the cost. One can argue that the school district
should look favorably toward green buildings that benefit students and teachers pri-
marily, but that’s not always the case—districts are just as concerned about initial costs
and the effect of green buildings on their stretched capital budgets as are developers.
In speculative commercial development, the tenants receive most of the benefits of
reduced operating costs and higher productivity, but the developer must bear the ini-
tial cost increase. The recent studies cited earlier in this chapter show greater occu-
pancy and higher rents in commercial ENERGY STAR–certified office buildings, as
well as higher resale values are compelling, but many developers are concerned
whether these benefits will accrue to them. In retail development, for example, shop-
ping center developers in 2008 still do not expect higher rents for LEED-certified
retail projects, even though they might enjoy faster political approval and greater mar-
†
keting and public relations benefits. Nonetheless, major retail developers are
announcing LEED project commitments with regularity in 2008, leading one to pre-
sume that they see commercial benefits in such activity. ‡
Table 6.2 shows the distribution of green building benefits; when promoting green
buildings to various stakeholders, you should always consider these distinctions in
presenting the case for green buildings. Public policy for green buildings should take

*http://mayor.lacity.org/villaraigosaplan/EnergyandEnvironment/Greenbuilding/index.htm, accessed April 2008.
† Personal communication, Scott Wilson, vice president, construction, Regency Centers, September 2007.
‡ Vestar Earth Day 2008 announcement; Regency Centers November 1, 2007 announcement.