by Brianna Crandall — May 9, 2014—The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) honored 14 organizations on May 6, naming them as 2014 Green Lease Leaders for their commitment to partnering with tenants to reduce energy waste and increase efficiency in commercial buildings. The facilities and property managers involved in the leases are to be congratulated as well for the significant role they play in making the initiatives a success.
These companies have demonstrated their commitment to energy efficiency, incorporating lease clauses that reinforce energy-efficiency choices, facilitating access to the energy bill data necessary for building benchmarking and encouraging cooperation on environmental initiatives, according to the Energy Department’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE).
Green leases (also known as aligned leases, high-performance leases, or energy-efficient leases) align the financial and energy incentives of building owners and tenants, allowing them to work together to save money, conserve resources, and ensure the efficient operation of buildings, explains EERE. These green leases have been applied across nearly every major property type, including offices, retail spaces, and manufacturing sites.
The following companies were recognized:
- Akridge
- Brandywine Realty Trust
- The Bullitt Foundation
- Empire State Realty Trust
- Jamestown, L.P.
- Kilroy Realty Corporation
- Kimco Realty Corporation
- Liberty Property Trust
- Oxford Properties
- PricewaterhouseCoopers, LLP
- Regency Centers
- Government Properties Income Trust
- The Tower Companies
- Unico Properties
Through the Green Lease Leaders program, DOE’s Better Buildings Alliance works with a wide variety of companies to incorporate green lease language into agreements across their portfolios and provide real-world, replicable leasing examples that can be used by others. The Green Lease Leader designation signifies a company or brokerage team that has successfully implemented green lease language into new or existing leases.
