Page 289 - The Green Building Bottom Line The Real Cost of Sustainable Building

THE FINE PRINT: LEGAL ISSUES IN GREEN BUILDING PROJECTS 267

Sample Contract Provision for Certification Assistance (continued)

LEED points being sought, including without limitation commu-
nicating with the general contractor and other members of the
project team regarding such requirements, visiting the site as nec-
essary in order to ensure or confirm compliance with such re-
quirements, and responding to proposed changes in the project;
(ix) Submit an application for LEED certification for the project in
accordance with the requirements of the USGBC, including with-
out limitation all required supporting documentation;
(x) Submit such additional documentation as is required by the
USGBC in connection with such application; and
(xi) Provide such other services as are reasonably required in order to
assist Owner in achieving LEED certification for the project.”
The above language is a sample only. Each building project is different,
and the above language should be negotiated according to circumstances and
the particular needs and concerns of the parties.

MEETING SUSTAINABILITY GOALS

A building cannot be certified, of course, if it does not actually meet the requirements
of the certification program. Developers must ensure that their requirements are
clearly outlined in the design and construction contracts.

Design Contracts
In design contracts, care must be taken with respect to how project goals are
described. If a developer expects a building to use 25 percent less energy than a com-
parable building, for example, it may not be enough to simply include this requirement
in the design contract and leave it up to the architect to come up with a solution. The
architect might easily achieve a reduction in the building’s energy usage, but the
method for doing so might be unacceptable or might not include certain elements,
such as increased daylighting, that the developer expected. If there are green tech-
nologies that the developer is not including initially but hopes to add later, then the
design team should be made aware of those. Installing solar panels, for example, may
be easier later on if their use is anticipated in the initial design. The developer’s goals
and expectations for the project should be communicated as fully as possible and, to
the extent necessary, included in the design contract.
Many of the technologies likely to be included in a green building’s design are rel-
atively new, and it can be difficult to predict how these technologies will actually per-
form in a particular building. There are two methods that can increase the likelihood