FEATURE ARTICLE, OCTOBER 2008

FOR NEW DEVELOPMENTS, SUSTAINABILITY IS KEY
Trend toward environmentally-friendly buildings fueled by consumers.
James V. Mascaro

The year 2007 was a green light year for DP Partners and many other developers. It was the year sustainability was given serious, in-depth consideration. For us, it was the year we joined the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC); the year we analyzed the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) construction rating system as it applies to industrial facilities; and the year we instituted our effort to conserve energy and the environment. We also committed to building green and educating ourselves and our clients on the inherent benefits of green.

The LEED rating system encourages global adoption of sustainable development practices through the implementation of universally accepted tools and performance criteria. LEED is a nationally accepted benchmark for the design, construction and operation of high-performance green buildings. The system recognizes performance in sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency, materials selection and indoor environmental quality.

The LEED-Accredited Professional (LEED-AP) program was launched in 2001 by the USGBC, which was founded in 2000. In early 2008, an independent organization, called the Green Building Certification Institute, was incorporated to allow for the objective, balanced management of the program. The LEED-AP program was designed to identify individuals with a thorough knowledge of the building techniques, practices and standards required to implement the LEED Green Building Rating System (GBRS). In order to earn the credential, designees must pass a rigorous 2-hour test and score 170 out of a possible 200 points. 45,162 professionals have earned the LEED-AP designation.

DP Partners has embraced many of the council’s criteria for sustainability and added environmetally-friendly specifications more geared to the industrial projects and parks we develop. Over the last 12 months, we have applied varying levels of our green-development criteria to seven new buildings under construction totaling nearly 3 million square feet. We believe these numbers will only increase as we present our sustainability program to our clients. We are working toward LEED Silver Certification of our first New Jersey building in 2008 and, by mid-June, will complete the construction of the first entire LEED-registered industrial park in Georgia, built to LEED Silver Certification criteria.

Until green development is common practice, it will be a juggling act. On one hand, we want to be environmentally responsible and employ cutting-edge development practices. On the other hand, we want our green speculative buildings to remain competitively priced.

As an industry, we are making progress that—within the context of construction’s historically glacial movement—is remarkably fast. The LEED New Construction rating system was first released in 2000, and the LEED Core & Shell rating for speculative development became available in July of 2006. According to SmartMarket Trends Report 2008, published by McGraw-Hill Construction Analytics, the value of green building construction starts for 2008 will exceed $12 billion and is projected to increase to $60 billion by 2010. At that time, approximately 10 percent of all commercial construction starts are projected to be green.

 At the fulcrum of this dilemma is the corporate user, who is balancing cost and good citizenship. But corporate boardrooms are coming around. By 2009, 80 percent of corporate America is expected to be engaged in green building at least 16 percent of the time, and the other 20 percent will be engaged in green building 60 percent of the time, according to the Greening of Corporate America SmartMarket Report 2007.

Corporations tend to take a long view of new facilities that they will occupy over the long term. An upfront investment of an additional 1 to 2 percent of the total construction cost, on average, results in a life-cycle savings of 20 percent within a 1- to 2-year period or 10 times more than the initial investment, according to The Costs and Financial Benefits of Green Building: A Report to California’s Sustainable Building Task Force. For example, a $4 per-square-foot investment in building green nets a $58 per-square-foot benefit over 20 years. That includes a per-square-foot savings of $5.80 in energy savings alone. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, tenants can save about $.50 per square foot each year through strategies that cut energy use by 30 percent, representing a savings of $50,000 or more over a 5-year lease on a 20,000-square-foot building.

The corporate clients we deal with all over the country are very much aware of the USGBC’s certification program and want to work with LEED-AP designees. They are also very much on board with the LEED Green Building Rating System and the potential operational savings of up to 20 percent of construction costs over the life cycle of a sustainable building.

Our new 70-acre LogistiPort at Savannah business park, located four miles west of the Port of Savannah on Georgia Route 307 in Pooler, Ga., comprises two distribution facilities. Both LogistiPort buildings, totaling 1,036,680 SF, were registered for LEED pre-certification. The park includes the 689,400-square-foot Building A, complete with a 32-foot clear ceiling, 120 truck docks, four drive-in doors and parking for 186 trailers and 220 cars. The 347,280-square-foot Building B features a 32-foot clear ceiling, 58 truck docks, two drive-in doors and parking for 66 trailers and 160 cars.

Based on input from our corporate clients, those specifications meet the physical requirements of our tenants. They also meet our goals to improve our environment by applying state-of-the-art design and construction practices. Those goals include:

• Design Green. Promote and utilize environmentally friendly materials and energy-efficient systems in new and retrofitted buildings.

• Build Green. Reduce construction waste, promote recycling during construction and build using green design criteria.

• Work Green. Create worker-friendly environments that increase employee productivity.

• Save Green. Through the selection of building materials and systems, such as energy-efficient lighting, reduce operational costs for our clients.

We have identified the following areas to be considered and applied to all qualifying projects including:

• Conscientious Site Design . Reduce the impact on developable land, preserve the natural features of land, support energy conservation and prevent adverse impacts to adjoining properties

• Water Efficiency. Apply landscaping design that conserves water and install water-saving plumbing fixtures.

• Energy Efficiency. Utilize energy-modeling simulations and identify cost-efficient ways to improve energy efficiencies.

• Materials & Resources. Build with recycled content, mandate construction waste recycling and reduce energy and transportation costs by using local sources of construction materials.

• Indoor Environmental Quality. Utilize natural lighting, temperature-control systems and ways to improve indoor air quality to promote employee well-being and increase productivity.

The greening of the construction industry is responsible for generating a lot of enthusiasm and creativity within the ranks of its practitioners. The federal General Services Administration (the country’s largest commercial tenant) and 24 states now mandate certified green-only construction for all new government buildings. Additionally, 75 cities, 23 countries, 10 school districts and 36 college systems have green initiatives or incentives.

Will all of these greening initiatives reduce the rate of global warming?  Buildings are one of the heaviest consumers of national resources and account for a significant portion of greenhouse-gas emissions that affect climate change. In the United States, buildings account for 38 percent of all CO2 emissions, according to the EIA Annual Energy Review 2005, published by the U.S. Energy Information Administration of the U.S. Department of Energy. Buildings represent 65 percent of all electricity consumption in the United States, use 40 percent of all primary energy, consume 12 percent of the nation’s potable water and use up 30 percent of the country’s raw materials, according to USGBC. The council also states that building green saves 20 to 50 percent of energy, 70 percent of construction waste and 40 percent of drinkable water.

Considering the magnitude of the construction industry’s impact on the global environment, anything we do to build eco-friendly sustainability will make a positive difference in health, productivity, decreased operational costs and a reduced carbon footprint. We all realize that our natural resources are finite, so let’s protect the planet, give our tenants something to feel good about and take advantage of cost savings that drop to the bottom line. The future is now, and it is green.

James Mascaro is development manager of the Eastern Region for Reno, Nev.-based DP Partners.

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