CHICAGO-Despite increased costs and the economic downturn, the US Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Efficient Design (LEED) program has become so widespread that, instead of garnering attention-grabbing praise, a new construction project is expected to have sustainable design elements, However, the expansion of the program in 2005 included the possibility of an existing property to achieve sustainability, and landlord have struggled to gain Silver, Gold and Platinum status as they deal with systems that weren’t designed to save on energy.
That didn’t stop BentleyForbes, the owner of the 2.4-million-square-foot Prudential Plaza complex in the downtown here, from a two-year investment to achieve the Gold certification. With the help of the Delta Group, the landlord was able to gain an annual savings of $1 million on energy costs, with almost an almost 30% reduction of electricity use, as well as tenant-cooperated sustainable initiatives.
Bryan Oyster, VP and general manager of the complex, talks with GlobeSt.com about how it’s possible that a landlord can gain more green from going green.
GlobeSt.com: How much more difficult is it to get LEED certified when you’re not talking about a new project?
Oyster: It’s more difficult for an existing building, you’re talking about systems already in place. A new building can be built around sustainability, you can set up all the infrastructure, it’s just not as challenging. An owner of an existing building has to look at other buildings on the market and struggle to see if it’s going to be worth it. And there hasn’t been a lot of existing buildings getting high LEED success in Chicago. Finally, it can be an expensive undertaking. We were able to get the Delta Group to work with us and help us through the process, it’s an arduous task unless you have someone who is familiar with the requirements.
GlobeSt.com: What’s the thought process behind going LEED in an existing property?
Oyster: With an existing building, there’s just certain base building issues that you’re never going to achieve LEED status with. Fortunately, there’s a lot of different points that can be taken by other means, such as staff behavior and operations, materials purchasing, energy usage, water consumption and other issues. For example, requiring the janitorial staff to use green solvents, and tracking this use, or saving money on water runoff.
GlobeSt.com: So instead of ripping out an AC unit or two, it’s more about many small changes?
Oyster: Yes. For example, at the Pru, we created an internal recycling board that promotes reuse vs. disposal, where one tenant can pick up from another. Also, we have a building-wide green office supply ordering program with Office Depot, and even a building Web site that promotes sustainable activities. Other ways included re-evaluating all the systems to make sure they run efficiently and cheaper. Not only are we shooting for Energy Star, but you’re looking at a million different ways to cut. We fixed and installed timers, and even took out one light bulb out of every fixture in the building service areas. We spent about $300,000 for all these efficiency measures, but have created savings of more than $1 million on annual energy costs.
GlobeSt.com: Is it possible to see anything new in sustainable practices today?
Oyster: There’s been a dynamic change to this industry, though I suppose it’s like any other, where the price of the products are now starting to come down due to everyone doing it. That goes for the vendors that are providing green building services, and the products that they use. In the beginning of the LEED process it was a big deal to find a vendor that could provide an alternative green product, but now everyone, from janitors to exterminators to landscapers, are trying to match the green requirements.
GlobeSt.com: Everyone knows there are costs behind this. Is this more the landlord’s push, or the tenant desires?
Oyster: It’s really obvious that this is becoming more important to all tenants. Many tenants are already investing heavy dollars into sustainability, and to offer it as a landlord already packaged is a great benefit to them. We have large tenants, 300,000-square-foot users, who come to us and the first thing they ask is if we are LEED certified. These blue-chip tenants can use their new LEED office as another bullet point to promote how they are sustainable, it’s a built-in marketing package for them. We’ve even had tenants pressure each other in the complex to comply with the programs. They’re getting jumped at, they are getting pressure to create these programs by their corporate offices, and for us to be doing it already, such as the purchasing group, is a great selling tool for us.
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