But in the seminar, focused on building the business case for sustainability, Gattuso cut to the heart of green building for any profit-based organization.

The soft benefits are key, he said: "Branding, reputation and doing the right thing are all ample justification for our company." But there are four "cold, hard benefits" that the business community must also embrace, and he used three prominent Liberty projects--the 1.6-million-sf Comcast Center in Philadelphia; the 283,000-sf Plaza at PPL Center in Allentown, PA; and One Crescent Plaza, a smaller office asset at the Philadelphia Navy Yard--to back the case for each. In all three cases, he noted, the following are true:

• "Sustainable design and LEED certification contribute to greater market acceptance of higher rent;"
• LEED accelerates, rather than hinders, the time to market;
• "It helps attract capital;"
• Finally, sustainable design drives significant value.

Building on Liberty's portfolio of 24 green buildings, Gattuso noted that the REIT sustained only a 1% to 2% "premium in embedding sustainable features into its projects, and it is going down." LEED Platinum is below 4%. For that increase, the development cycle suffers no increase in length, and operating costs can be reduced as much as 30%.

In addition, he continued, rents can reach 40% above market and overall building value can actually hit 50% over comparable assets. All of this translates to benefits for the tenant as well, again, over and above the physical effects of a healthy environment. Quoting a study, Gattuso stated that worker productivity has been shown to increase 15% in a green building.