Tools and Resources

This study, by the Institute for Market Transformation and the Political Economy Research Institute (PERI) at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, analyzes the potential of a national building energy rating and disclosure policy to create jobs and reduce energy-related expenditures in commercial and multifamily residential buildings.

Read this report from A Better City and Meister Consultants Group, Inc., on behalf of the Boston Green Ribbon Commission’s Commercial Real Estate Working Group, to learn about the benchmarking and disclosure policies that are becoming a trend in major cities across America. This report summarizes lessons learned from the first U.S. cities to implement benchmarking and disclosure programs with interviews from city representatives as well as members of the federal government.

This report is an outcome of a roundtable convened in late 2010 by the IMT and senior policy implementers from 10 states and cities,  national building energy efficiency experts, and leaders from the commercial real estate industry. The purpose was to discuss best practices for implementing commercial building benchmarking and disclosure policies. Many of these approaches have broad applicability both to current policy implementers and to those that may implement rating and disclosure policies in the future.

Read this paper, by researches at UCLA, Maastricht University, and UC Berkeley, to learn about the electricity consumption of commercial buildings. The paper looks at a large sample of buildings from California over a 10-year period. The paper discusses the impact of structure quality on electricity consumption, and also explores the role that tenant behavior and tenant incentives play in determining a building’s environmental performance.

This paper explores a 2010 survey conducted by CoreNet Global and Jones Lang LaSalle, which revealed a trend among corporate real estate executives toward sustainability strategies. The report explores the consideration of sustainability when determining location, the willingness to pay more for green space, and the workplace benefits of sustainability, such as employee health and productivity.

This study, co-authored by Co-Star and Burnham-Moores Center for Real Estate, provides some comparison data on ENERGY STAR and LEED certified buildings versus non-ENERGY STAR or Non-LEED certified office property from the entire United States using the CoStar data base. The results show the financial benefits of investing in sustainable real estate.

This paper from Maastricht University compares certified green buildings with nearby buildings and determines that buildings with green ratings command substantially higher rents and selling prices than otherwise comparable buildings. According to researchers, ENERGY STAR certified buildings command a rental premium of about 3%, have higher occupancy, and bring in a 16% premium on selling prices.

This report from the Institute for Market Transformation examines how mandatory rating and disclosure policies can help achieve real progress in reducing energy use and greenhouse gas emissions in U.S. commercial buildings. Using best practices in current policies, this paper lays out a policy framework for maximizing the market transformation potential of rating commercial buildings.

This report by the Institute for Market Transformation shows how a new kind of energy policy is creating skilled, export-proof jobs in cities across the United States. Under this type of policy, called building energy rating and disclosure, owners of large buildings track exactly how much energy their properties use. Armed with this information, they can make changes that reduce their utility bills and those of their tenants—helping everyone’s bottom line. Within the report are profiles of business leaders who are adding jobs and expanding their client rosters.

This report from the Green Building Finance Consortium demonstrates that investing in energy efficiency enhances value in your real estate portfolios. This report takes a look at the growing demand for more efficient buildings, sales prices, lease rates and occupancy rates. It also provides real estate investors with academic and industry research, key steps, and best practices for integrating energy efficiency across your portfolios.