by Brianna Crandall — December 10, 2012—San Francisco officials, supported by representatives from the U.S. Green Building Council’s Northern California Chapter (USGBC-NCC) and other stakeholders, announced on November 29 that the city is again leading the way in sustainability initiatives by incorporating “Green Labels,” which recognize ecologically sustainable building practices, in the official land records maintained by the City and County of San Francisco for the first time ever.
Green Labels being recorded by the Assessor’s office are the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED), Build It Green’s Green Point Rated, Home Energy Rating System II (HERS II), Home Energy Score (U.S. Department of Energy), and ENERGY STAR (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and U.S. Department of Energy).
According to the city, there are more than 1,000 properties and 250 buildings in San Francisco that have earned a Green Label, covering more than 60 million square feet of commercial space. At least 35 percent of San Francisco’s commercial square-footage now has a LEED or ENERGY STAR certification.
Incorporating Green Labels into San Francisco’s official property records has been a joint effort by the city’s Assessor-Recorder and Department of the Environment (SF Environment) offices as well as dozens of real estate leaders, architects, builders, business groups, sustainability advocates and other stakeholders.
The goal of this initiative is to encourage energy efficiency and other environmental performance improvements, as well as to increase investments in energy efficiency and to enhance the market’s ability to value energy and environmental performance. Adding the information also reportedly has the potential to help buyers, appraisers, and underwriters in quantifying benefits for properties and structures that earn these distinctions versus those that do not.
