Sustainable buildings appeal to commercial tenants for reasons beyond a basic desire to help the environment. As they search for the next ideal office space to lease, entrepreneurs know to watch for verification through Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, or LEED.
Employees who work in buildings with LEED status are healthier, more productive and more likely to remain longer with their companies. In tandem, business owners have signaled a willingness to spend more on eco-friendly spaces — and building owners are taking note. It’s anticipated that commercial-building owners will spend $960 billion globally by the year 2023 upgrading building infrastructure to meet the U.S. Green Building Council’s rigorous LEED standards.
At present, more than 200,000 buildings worldwide are LEED certified. On its face, that isn’t a particularly impressive figure. Major metropolitan areas in the United States haven’t exactly raced the extra mile to embrace yet another set of codes and guidelines in an industry already rife with regulations. Indeed, part of the reason for the slow march to green is that the LEED program itself only represents one set of standards. Some building owners and developers prefer to focus on Energy Star, for example. Others simply don’t see strong enough demand to justify the investment. It takes time, money and other resources to retrofit older buildings or delay newer properties to ensure they’re…