CoStar Study Finds Energy Star, LEED Bldgs. Outperform Peers
Demand in Marketplace for Sustainability Creates Higher Occupancy Rates, Stronger Rents and Sale Prices in 'Green' Buildings
By Andrew C. Burr, March 26, 2008
A new study by CoStar Group has found that sustainable "green" buildings outperform their non-green peer assets in key areas such as occupancy, sale price and rental rates, sometimes by wide margins.
The results indicate a broader demand by property investors and tenants for buildings that have earned either LEED® certification or the Energy Star® label and strengthen the "business case" for green buildings, which proponents have increasingly cast as financially sound investments.
According to the CoStar study, LEED buildings command rent premiums of $11.33 per square foot over their non-LEED peers and have 4.1 percent higher occupancy. Rental rates in Energy Star buildings represent a $2.40 per square foot premium over comparable non-Energy Star buildings and have 3.6 percent higher occupancy. (For Complete Story Click Here)
About the Energy Conservation Audit and Disclosure (ECAD) Ordinance
About the Energy Conservation Audit and Disclosure (ECAD) Ordinance
The Austin City Council approved the Energy Conservation Audit and Disclosure (ECAD) ordinance to improve the energy efficiency of Austin homes and buildings that receive electricity from Austin Energy.The Energy Conservation Audit and Disclosure (ECAD) ordinance requires Austin commercial buildings that receive electricity from Austin Energy to have an energy rating by June 1, 2011. The ordinance takes effect June 1, 2009.
Commercial Building Energy Rating Systems
If the building is not exempt, it will need an energy rating according to an Austin Energy-approved energy rating system.
Approved rating systems include:
- Portfolio Manager from EPA ENERGY STAR®, for buildings 5,000 square feet or more
- Austin Energy Online Commercial/Business Energy Analysis tool, for buildings less than 5,000 square feet.
(For Complete Story Click Here)
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