Page 306 - The Green Building Bottom Line The Real Cost of Sustainable Building

284 CHAPTER 9

Declaration of Landlord’s Intent

What follows is an example declaration of Landlord’s intent with respect to
LEED Certification.
LEED Certification. Landlord may design, construct, and/or maintain the Building
in accordance with the principles of LEED (Leadership in Energy & Environmental
Design), a voluntary rating system utilized to mitigate the impact of development
on the environment, and may obtain certification from the U.S. Green Building
Council that the Building complies with standards set forth in LEED. Tenant shall
comply with requirements specified by Landlord for the construction, alteration,
operation, maintenance, repair, and replacement of the Premises, which require-
ments may include, without limitation, (i) the use of recycled, rapidly renewable,
or other materials, or the non-use of other materials, in Tenant’s improvements, fix-
tures, equipment, and personal property; (ii) the installation of utility facilities or
lighting fixtures specified by Landlord in the Premises; (iii) the compliance of the
Premises with energy or water conservation; lighting; ventilation; waste disposal or
reduction; and other design or operation standards for the Building; and (iv) the
maintenance of a minimum level of indoor air quality in the Premises. Tenant shall
take no action which shall cause Landlord to lose the certification described above.
Tenant shall reasonably cooperate with Landlord in connection with Landlord’s
efforts to obtain or maintain such certification, including without limitation the pro-
vision to Landlord of utility bills and other documents relating to the functioning or
maintenance of the mechanical systems installed within the Premises. Landlord shall
have the right to construct, alter, maintain, repair, replace, and operate the remain-
der of the Building in such a manner as Landlord deems necessary in order to obtain
or maintain the Building’s LEED certification.

to address issues of landlord liability in this regard. The landlord will obviously desire
to incorporate provisions that relieve the landlord from any liability for the interrup-
tion or reduction of these services. The tenant will desire to incorporate language that
creates an incentive for the landlord to ensure consistent levels of service and provide
a remedy to the tenant in the event the landlord fails to do so.
If the landlord has a recycling program for the building, the green lease should con-
tain provisions permitting the costs of such a program (including the cost of reserving
areas of the building for the interim storage of recyclable materials) to be included in
operating costs. Beyond this, the landlord may desire to require tenants to participate
in such programs as an obligation under the lease. In such an event, the lease should
specifically describe the tenant’s obligations and provide remedies for the landlord in
the event the tenant fails to perform such obligations. These might include monetary
fines, loss of services, an obligation to reimburse the landlord for performing the ten-
ant’s obligations, and ultimately, the right of the landlord to terminate the lease.