With the launch of LEED for Retail just around the corner, I took the opportunity while in Chicago on other business to see for myself how restaurants are integrating green design into their facilities. This is interesting on several levels, both because restaurants are very energy intensive, and because the greening of design through major restaurant brands poses the opportunity to reach communities and consumers in a new and unique way.

In some ways, green building has been an urban phenomenon, with advocates talking about how office buildings must be green if they still want to be considered Class A space, or about how the greenest buildings are those that are infill developments of existing dense urban areas. While these are all true, a large part of America lives and works in suburban or rural areas, places where the largest buildings around are big box retail and communities are heavily dependent on automobiles. These communities can still benefit from green design, and can be part of the solution to many of our economic and energy challenges.  The Chicago area is unique in that there are many restaurant projects that have registered or are LEED certified.  I traveled to the South Side of Chicago, still within sight of the Sears Tower (which is undergoing its own greening initiative), and passed the empty parking lot of a flea market and pulled into the permeable parking lot of the first LEED Gold certified McDonald’s. This McDonald’s is company owned and operated and serves as somewhat of a testing ground for the green design attributes that they may incorporate into other new restaurants in their franchisee network. The restaurant incorporates many energy efficiency strategies, including skylights, LED interior lighting, heat recovery from the refrigeration units and even LED lights in the parking lot, which will not only save energy but save maintenance costs due to their long life. Additionally, the McDonald’s also incorporated a green roof, low-flow water fixtures, and worked with their décor providers to increase the recycled content of the restaurant seating area materials. Educational signs and a video help educate customers about the green features located throughout the space.

My next stop was a registered Denny’s Restaurant project located just outside the city of Joliet. The greening of this restaurant was led by the local franchisee and restaurateur rather than by the corporate design team, and was built within a standard budget. Located in the end-cap of a small strip center, the Denny’s makes tremendous use of natural daylight, including six large locally made skylights and extensive lighting sensors and controls. The remaining lighting consists of LEDs and high efficiency fluorescents. 

The greening of this restaurant started long before design as the restaurateur sought to find a suitable building and amenable landlord. This location worked out perfectly as the landlord was able to accommodate the request for extra insulation in the foundation and a highly reflective roof to help mitigate heating and cooling costs. Perhaps most importantly, every diner at Denny’s has a way to connect with the green attributes of the restaurant, including a brochure at each table and informative signage on the walls. With 5,000 people served weekly, the opportunity for this one restaurant to educate consumers is significant.

I would have liked to have visited the LEED Platinum Chipotle north of Chicago in Gurnee Mills, IL or the new Pizza Fusion in Naperville, IL, but unfortunately, my time was limited. I’m looking forward to visiting more green restaurants throughout the country which will surely take shape after the LEED for Retail rating system is launch in the fall.

For retailers, very little other than the product or service being sold can say as much to their customer about their environmental commitment than their retail space. In an increasingly environmentally-aware world, savvy retailers understand how buildings can add value to their brand and are also wary of compromising the brand with greenwashing claims. These retailers are turning to green building strategies and the LEED green building certification system to demonstrate and support their corporate social responsibility commitments, educate their customers and verify their accomplishments through third-party certification.

Green building is not a new concept – but it’s relatively new to the retail market. LEED was developed by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) in 2000, and for the last several years, USGBC has been working with the retail industry and a committee of industry experts to develop LEED credits that are more specific to retail building types.  LEED for Retail New Construction and LEED for Retail Commercial Interiors, built on the experience from 95 pilot projects, is currently undergoing member ballot. Once the system passes ballot, it will provide certification paths for both ground-up retail  construction and retail commercial interiors.

LEED for Retail is aligned with the new LEED 2009 rating system and is anticipated to be available for use in July 2009. The 100-point scale covers the same key environmental areas as the LEED 2009 rating system. Key technical differences in the rating system include adaptations to account for both employees and customers in transportation and daylighting strategies. Additionally, LEED for Retail addresses process water and energy, both of which now have baselines created with the help of retailers and the food service technology industry.

Despite the economy and the slow-down of construction in the retail market, there is tremendous market transformation occurring within the retail sector. A number of retailers have already built LEED into their standard prototype designs and plan to seek certification on future stores.  Since 300 retailers are already in the process of using LEED, the scalability of this market provides huge opportunities to minimize this sector’s environmental impact.

We’ve been hearing so much lately about the economy and its potential damaging affect on the commercial real estate market. A variety of recently released reports point to green building as a key solution to many of the challenges our country faces today, from a faltering economy, unemployment, to rising energy prices and America’s dependence on foreign oil.

How so? For starters, green building can contribute to a vibrant industry that could drive economic recovery. McGraw-Hill Construction’s Green Outlook 2009 report “Trends Driving Change” shows that by 2013, the overall green building market (both residential and non-residential) is likely to more than double to $96-140 billion. And studies have shown that the LEED green building certification program has the potential to contribute billions to the economy. A Greener World media study reported that LEED certified projects are directly tied to more than $10 billion of green materials, which could easily reach more than $100 billion by 2020. The U.S. Green Building Council’s nationally recognized LEED program provides third-party review and certification of buildings’ design, construction and performance in five key areas of environmental and health concern, including energy efficiency, water efficiency, materials and resources use, sustainable site development and indoor air quality.

And economic hardship isn’t keeping commercial real estate executives from building green. A recent Turner Construction Company’s report “Green Building Barometer” found that 75% of those professionals – including developers, rental building owners, brokers, architects and engineers – would not let the credit crunch discourage them from building green. In fact, 83% said they would be “extremely” or “very” likely to seek LEED certification for buildings they are planning to build within the next three years.
And while jobs continue to be cut and unemployment continues to rise, reaching 2.6 million in 2008, green building is able to generate new green jobs for Americans. The Center for American Progress and the Political Economy Research Institute at the University of Massachusetts Amherst found in a September 2008 study that a national green economic recovery program investing $100 billion over 10 years in six infrastructure areas would create 2 million new jobs!

Green buildings have the potential to help employers as well, as green buildings help companies cut costs, build sound financial situations and manage operating expenses. Rising energy costs are causing building owners and managers to tighten their belts, and the buildings they use day in and day out cost them millions in unnecessary operational costs. Respondents to Turner’s “Green Building Barometer” said their green buildings have resulted in lower energy costs, with 68% reporting lower overall operating costs. By investing in green technology in both new and existing buildings, building owners and managers are able to reap long-term operational and maintenance savings, all the while bettering the environment.

The Center for American Progress’ study shows how green investments on a wide scale can ignite the economy of the nation as a whole. A $100 billion green infrastructure investment over 10 years, with a focus on green building retrofits and investment in alternative energy sources, could be paid for with proceeds from carbon permit auctions under a greenhouse gas cap-and-trade program. That’s roughly the same amount of investment as the tax rebate checks sent as part of the April 2008 economic stimulus plan but would create 300,000 more jobs.
In short, green building offers a source of solutions and an opportunity for commercial real estate firms to tackle the challenges facing today’s society.

If you have any comments or ideas, you can reach Marc at mheisterkamp@usgbc.org.