by Brianna Crandall — December 11, 2015—The Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA) International has found that properties with the BOMA 360 Performance Program designation continue to outperform buildings without the 360 designation — even if those properties already have a LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification from the U.S. Green Building Council. And buildings with both BOMA 360 and LEED certification gain an additional boost in performance.
The BOMA 360 Performance Program evaluates commercial properties in six major areas: building operations and management; life safety / security / risk management; training and education; energy; environment / sustainability; and tenant relations / community involvement.
Since the program’s inception in 2009, more than 1,200 designations have been conferred in more than 70 markets across the United States and around the globe.
Analysis was conducted using the information found in BOMA International’s 2015 Office Experience Exchange Report (Office EER), which aggregates office sector income and expense data from the previous year; 2014 data was gathered from more than 5,300 buildings in 275 markets in the USA and Canada representing more than 820 million square feet. Also included in the collected data are any building designations currently held by the properties.
BOMA 360
According to the analysis, buildings with the BOMA 360 designation averaged $4.89 per square foot (psf) more in total rental income than buildings without the designation. This performance gap also has widened significantly, up $2.74 since last year.
Buildings with the designation also saw operational efficiencies, as they averaged $4.56 psf more in total rental income when subtracting total operating expenses than buildings without the designation, an increase of $2.79 since last year.
LEED + BOMA 360
The analysis also found that properties boasting both the BOMA 360 designation and the LEED certification performed significantly better than properties with just the LEED certification alone, demonstrating the complementary nature of the two programs.
LEED-certified properties that also earned a BOMA 360 designation averaged $1.73 psf more in total rental income than buildings that only achieved LEED certification. This is up $0.55 from last year.
Properties with both LEED certification and the BOMA 360 designation also averaged $1.50 psf more in total rental income after subtracting total operating expenses than LEED properties without the 360 designation, an increase of $0.46 from last year.
While LEED serves as an important measure of sustainability, the BOMA 360 designation covers a much broader range of criteria, providing a more holistic validation of operational and management best practices, says BOMA.
Previous independent analyses by CoStar and Kingsley Associates have confirmed that earning a BOMA 360 designation offers buildings tangible results, measured through higher tenant retention and satisfaction scores, higher rental rates, and documented savings and efficiencies in operations and management, notes BOMA.
