Page 222 - The Green Building Bottom Line The Real Cost of Sustainable Building

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that enable the developer to work in an integrated fashion: stating one’s
philosophy clearly, making that ethos public, being inviting of third-party
verification of one’s efforts, and opening up to public scrutiny. In the final
section, Coyne concludes that sustainable development should not only
make dollars and sense for the present generation but should, at its roots,
be driven by a sense of stewardship for future generations. Beyond the
numerical analysis presented, readers should gain insight from the com-
mon sense elements that define sustainability.

The Fabric of Community

A few years ago, I was sitting in a movie theater in Birmingham, Alabama watching
the Disney/Pixar animated feature, Cars. On my lap was my ten-year-old daughter,
Ariana; to my left was her twin brother, Dallas; and to my right was my stepdaugh-
ter, Zoe. For those who’ve never seen it, at one level Cars is a movie about (not sur-
prisingly) cars. But at a far more complex level, Cars is really a movie about a town
that time forgot. More accurately, Cars is about a town that let time forget it, and
about that town’s quest to recapture its soul. It’s a movie about the search for char-
acter. At its most fundamental level, Cars is a movie about re-establishing the fabric
of community.
This chapter discusses a pragmatic and holistic approach to sustainability, from the
very practical application of sustainable business principles to broader philosophical
considerations. We thus begin with the specifics of making dollars and sense for ten-
ants, drawing upon a real-world presentation that we make to prospects wherein we
focus on the financial benefits we feel are realized by occupying a green building. At
another level, though, this chapter is about the benefit of green to the larger commu-
nity, and the catalytic role that projects such as the Birmingham Federal Reserve &
Tower can play in fostering a sustainable society. A project of this scope has distinct
challenges. I will try to be forthright about the difficulties as well as the opportunities
this project has afforded us, as there is a great deal to be learned from our difficulties
and mistakes. In fact, I am willing to bet the struggles represented by this project are
emblematic of similar challenges in your town. The green bottom line, after all, is
more than just financial value creation for the developer. As I will note throughout, it
includes the financial benefit to specific users—tenants and residents—and extends
beyond them to include financial, social, and environmental benefits for the commu-
nity at large.