Two things are abundantly clear about the “green building” movement sweeping across the country these days. One is that the results ultimately will be good for the planet. The other is that it will add, perhaps significantly, to the cost of your real estate.
No matter how you may personally feel about the environmental movement, make no mistake about it: “Green buildings,” for better or for worse, will be part of your future real estate landscape. This is not simply tree-hugging, middle-aged hippies out to share their vision of Nirvana with you. “Green buildings” are going to happen, with or without you.
As Thomas Paine said, lead, follow or get out of the way. I would strongly suggest that you choose the former.
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However, for businesses getting ready to make a decision on a major facility expansion or relocation, evaluating costs spread over a 10- to 20-year time frame is not unusual at all.
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Your first reason for concern ought to be that the political class has adopted “green buildings” and “sustainable development” as hot topics and is ready to ride these topics to election victory. What ought to concern you is not that either of these is necessarily a bad idea, but rather that since the leadership is coming from the political side, I promise that you won’t be happy with the results.
No one really knows what the premium will be for green buildings. Some experts say it could be only a couple of percent, others say as much as 5 percent to 10 percent.
Personally, I don’t have a clue and, what’s more, people whose expertise I respect can’t seem to reach a consensus on what it will mean to the construction and renovation costs of buildings.
One thing they do seem to agree on, though, is that, at least in the initial stages, it will add to your costs. The real tantalizing question is whether you can recoup those costs and, indeed, ultimately save money over, say, a 10- to 20-year period.
For most Americans, whose attention span seems to be measured in seconds, that’s an impossible concept to wrap their arms around. However, for businesses getting ready to make a decision on a major facility expansion or relocation, evaluating costs spread over a 10- to 20-year time frame is not unusual at all.
That’s why it’s important that business leaders get involved in the political discussion about green buildings, both at the local and national levels. Just like the CAFE initiative legislating fuel economy standards for vehicles, laws will soon begin to be passed mandating standards for building “greenness.”
Business leaders, particularly in the real estate sector, need to play a role in determining what those “green” laws and regulations say — and don't say. Your challenge won’t be at the national level, either. Cable news has pretty much got that covered 24/7.
No, what you really need to be concerned about is what happens on the local level, where people seem to pay little or no attention until after something truly strange — like, for instance, a 100-foot cell tower in your front yard — either passes into law or is on the verge of passing.
Let’s face it. Nobody really pays close attention to city or county politics, but that’s where the laws that will impact you most will be written and passed.
The “green building” ship is ready to set sail, and the only question is whether you want to be onboard when it sets out because, when it returns to port in all of its regulatory glory, you’re going to have to live with the results.
Thomas Paine is also the person who coined the phrase, “These are the times that try men’s souls.” He could have been writing about today or, as Yogi Berra once said, “It was déjà vu all over again.”
