Leading Real Estate Organizations Commit to
Collaborative Action Plan for Green Leases
CHICAGO,
July 26, 2010 -
Leading building owners and investment advisory firms have joined
corporate tenants in committing to a statement of principles and a
Green Lease Action Plan to resolve the challenges of energy and
sustainability in leased commercial office space.
The first organizations to agree to the Green Lease Action
Plan include Bank of America, Beacon Capital Partners, Deutsche
Bank, JPMorgan Chase, LaSalle Investment Management (the investment
arm of Jones Lang LaSalle), RREEF (the real estate investment
management arm of Deutsche Bank) and Whirlpool Corporation.
Collectively, these organizations own or occupy leased office
space in excess of 350 million square feet.
This industry leadership move is launched in association with
Greenprint Foundation, a worldwide alliance of real estate owners,
investors and financial institutions committed to reducing carbon
emissions across the global property industry. Several participants
in the Green Lease Action Plan are also founding members of
Greenprint Foundation, including Jones Lang LaSalle, which is
facilitating the Plan and registration process for all
participating organizations.
"The efficient use of energy and other resources in buildings
requires joint action from property owners and occupiers, but there
are disincentives that often prevent the two sides from investing
in the necessary capital improvements," said Michael Jordan, Senior Vice President of
Sustainability Strategy at Jones Lang LaSalle.
"We're inviting organizations to join us in addressing these
energy and environmental challenges, to create business value for
owners and occupiers alike."
The built environment is responsible for up to 40 percent of
energy use and greenhouse gas emissions in many countries. Jones
Lang LaSalle estimates that many commercial buildings can reduce
energy use and the associated greenhouse gas emissions by 40
percent without affecting tenants' comfort; however, much of the
achievable savings requires upfront investment that is paid back
over a period of several years.
In a building with many tenants that may relocate, expand or
contract their space over time, it is difficult for owners and
individual tenants to make a strong business case for
retrofits.
The initiative to remove barriers to energy efficiency and
sustainability in leased office space is based on three guiding
principles:
- Landlords and tenants should agree to operate the buildings as
sustainably as is commercially feasible.
- The value of energy savings achieved through building
efficiency improvements should be available to pay for the
improvements
- To the extent feasible, usage and demand for resources
throughout the buildings should be measurable and transparent to
both landlords and tenants.
In endorsing these principles, leading organizations agree
to:
- Establish green lease principles to influence owner/occupier
agreements and act on these principles across the portfolio over
time.
- Require leasing agents who work on behalf of participating
organizations to complete a basic orientation about sustainability,
green lease principles, and ways to resolve barriers to
sustainability in leases.
- Establish/adopt green site selection criteria for tenants and
consider these criteria for new space acquisition.
- Establish a standard for landlords to communicate key energy
and environmental ratings to tenants and to prospective tenants and
deploy this process at 50 percent of their properties within three
years.
"This is not about owners or tenants making financial sacrifices
to enhance energy and sustainability in buildings-it's about
creating economic incentives on both sides to create win-win
scenarios economically and environmentally," said Charles B. Leitner III, Chief Executive
Officer, Greenprint Foundation.
"We see a clear need for a dialogue between landlords and
tenants to align costs and benefits of green office space," said
Lee Utke, Director of Global
Corporate Real Estate at Whirlpool Corp. "As more and more tenants
and landlords recognize these issues and commit to working toward a
solution globally as well as nationally, we will be able to make a
stronger business case for improvements in buildings."
These leading tenants and landlords have committed to the Green
Lease Action Plan as an important step toward resolving the
challenges, and are taking direct action to implement these
concepts in the properties they own, occupy and manage. "We hope to
expand the group of owners and occupiers to sign on to these
principles, and accelerate our collective progress in overcoming
this challenge," Jordan said.
About Greenprint Foundation
Greenprint Foundation is a worldwide alliance of leading real
estate owners, investors and financial institutions committed to
reducing carbon emissions across the global property industry.
Greenprint Foundation is a catalyst for change, taking meaningful,
immediate and measurable actions to generate solutions that improve
energy efficiency and create value in property portfolios. The
Foundation focuses on the built environment, which represents one
third of all carbon emissions. For more information, visit www.greenprintfoundation.org