Although government incentives do not appear to play a major role in respondents’ decisions to develop green properties, 47% of corporate users and 46% of developers indicate that government incentives somewhat impact decisions.

About one-third of respondents say that incentives play no role in the decision-making process. Yet 75% of corporate users and 80% of developers also say they would like local governments to develop tax incentives for green building owners.

The new green standard
Green building practices are clearly becoming entrenched in the commercial real estate universe. In fact, nearly half of respondents — 51% of developers and 47% of corporate users — believe that green building is not only a long-term phenomenon, but also that green building requirements will become part of future building codes.

Those requirements are already surfacing in mandates for public facilities. President Bush issued an executive order in January 2007 stating that new construction and renovations of government buildings should comply with federal sustainable design principles.

As a result, the General Services Administration issued its own directive requiring that all of its new buildings be constructed to meet a minimum of silver-level LEED certification.

The main reason that green building may be increasingly viewed as a requirement rather than an elective circles back to the focus on reducing energy consumption and energy costs.

More than one-third of respondents — 41% of corporate users and 33% of developers — say the future of green building is pegged to energy prices. In addition, 50% of government respondents say that elected officials and energy prices are the primary drivers of green building [Fig. 13].

“There’s a dialogue about energy going on across the nation, and I think over the next few years our decision makers are going to wake up to the basic facts,” says Austin Mayor Will Wynn, who also serves as chairman of the Energy Committee for the U.S. Conference of Mayors.

In the future, cities and states will face economic and environmental challenges related to energy consumption. Buildings account for 38% of U.S. carbon dioxide emissions, 71% of electricity use and 40% of total energy use, reports the U.S. Department of Energy.

“You’re going to start to see more and more recognition that the cleanest, cheapest megawatt you’ll ever have is the one you don’t have to produce in the first place,” Wynn says.

For example, the U.S. Green Building Council is partnering with the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers and the Illuminating Engineering Society of North America to develop a new minimum standard for green building.

The goal of Standard 189 is to further drive green building into mainstream practices, says Fedrizzi. It will address key areas of performance including energy efficiency, greenhouse gas emissions, sustainable site selection, water usage, materials and resources, and indoor environmental quality.

When completed sometime in 2008, Standard 189 will be an American National Standards Institute (ANSI) accredited standard that can be incorporated into the building code. Although industry associations such as NAIOP do not support government mandates for green building, the organization does favor incentives.

“Clearly, we think the commercial real estate market will be ahead of what building codes require simply because clients will demand it,” says Bisacquino. “The tenant’s demand for green is growing. The question is whether there is a willingness there to pay for it.”