Commissioning has long been an integral part of green building and the LEED green building rating system, and basic commissioning was built into LEED for New Construction as a prerequisite for certification. Commissioning is often misunderstood, especially among owners with no commissioning experience who often avoid the practice due to fears of initial high costs.  The commissioning process offers benefits to both building owners and occupants through improved building performance and heightened occupant satisfaction.

ASHRAE Guideline 0-2005 defines commissioning as a quality-focused process that focuses on verifying and documenting that the facility and its systems and assemblies are planned, designed, installed, tested, operated and maintained to meet the Owner’s Project Requirements (OPR).  And while many believe that commissioning is for new buildings only, it can be applied to existing buildings as well, as long as stabilized occupancy conditions are in place. LEED for Existing Buildings: Operations & Maintenance includes a credit focused on continuous commissioning, which incorporates monitoring and analysis of building performance data between the regularly performed operation and equipment reviews.

Any added cost of commissioning is justified by the energy savings that can be realized through corrective actions identified in the commissioning process. LEED specifically focuses on this aspect by having a credit specifically regarding implementation of no-cost and low-cost measures related to energy efficiency identified in the analysis. LEED for Existing Buildings: Operations & Maintenance also provides the option of performing an ASHRAE Level II Energy Audits as the first part of the retrocomissioning investigation component for existing buildings. Upfront commissioning and energy audits costs are recouped within only one to two years and helps building owners avoid unnecessary operating expenses, which is critical in this economic environment.

There are many comprehensive resources and guides to commissioning and retrocomissioning available online including A Retrocommissioning Guide for Building Owners, compiled by Portland Energy Conservation Incorporated and the EPA’s Energy STAR program.

Do you have experiences and specifics from commissioning or performing energy audits in your buildings? Let me know at mheisterkamp@usgbc.org.

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.