Page 270 - The Green Building Bottom Line The Real Cost of Sustainable Building

248 CHAPTER 8

are exposed to information about LEED for Commercial Interiors as a way to build
out their spaces to create healthier environments for their workers while saving money
on operating costs.
The idea, still in its infancy, has been to include our brokerage sustainability asso-
ciate on all business development calls. Her role, first, is to help educate our brokers
so they can be more informed about sustainable practices with potential clients. Her
role is also to develop the toolbox that facilitates how our brokers present sustainable
ideas. And finally, her role is to be at the table on business development meetings, both
as a resource in real time and to facilitate follow-up. If a potential developer client
needs help guiding a project through the LEED process, our sustainability associate is
able to connect this client with our consultancy group. If a potential developer client
needs help building out a project to LEED specifications, our sustainability associate
connects this client to our construction group. Or if a potential developer client needs
help managing a project sustainably once it is complete, a hand-off is made to our
property management division.
These practices are all standard for a vertically integrated real estate company, one
that can develop, construct, lease, manage, and provide consultancy services for a
project. What is different here is making the connection between our brokers’ deep
pool of social contacts and our similarly deep knowledge of and experience with sus-
tainable practices. Sustainable brokerage is all about leveraging social and intellectual
capital.
An interesting and not insignificant aspect of leveraging our intellectual and
social capital is that it helps us compete favorably in the market. Often, our meet-
ings with potential clients are vetting processes, as clients are evaluating our firm
against competitive brokerage companies, some of which are regional or national in
scope. The client is obviously looking for a brokerage group with the requisite knowledge
and experience to successfully represent the project. Beyond that baseline, the client
is looking for both tangible and intangible elements that serve to differentiate a
particular brokerage firm (and by association, hopefully, differentiate the project).
Our commitment to sustainability has amply served as a positive differentiator. It
has not, as was initially feared, proven to be an impediment to being awarded an
assignment.

CREATING FINANCIAL INCENTIVES
Let’s be crystal clear about this: When working with a group of independent agents who
are compensated solely by commission, a sustainable brokerage program absolutely has
to be aligned with a well-designed compensation scheme. Otherwise, forget it. By hir-
ing a full-time sustainability associate, a sustainable brokerage firm has basically made
a statement about respecting a broker’s precious time by not “wasting” it on enormous
amounts of research. By creating a toolbox of information, a sustainable brokerage firm
is further streamlining a broker’s time, enabling him or her to focus on the deal. And by
empowering the sustainability associate to make the pitch to potential clients, the broker