GREEN BUILDING: Need for LEED?

While pundits debate the validity of global warming, it’s difficult to dispute that buildings are some of the biggest offenders of energy and water waste. There’s also no doubt that demand for green buildings is on the rise because of skyrocketing energy prices and the business case for the ancillary perks of such facilities, like the marketing quotient and personnel benefits.
 
Though there are a number of green building standards out there, the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) rating system is the most prominent. The number of LEED-certified and registered projects has increased as much a 700 percent per year since the program’s inception in 2000, according to GreenBiz.com’s “State of Green Business 2008.” If LEED grows at the pace the USGBC hopes it will, the number of LEED-certified facilities at the end of 2007 will grow nearly a hundredfold to 100,000 by the end of 2010, the report says.
 
Most contractors have probably heard of the LEED program – it’s a ratings system that evaluates a building’s environmental sustainability. But many professionals are still determining where they fit into the green buildings picture and what LEED means for their businesses.
 
“There all of these words floating around out there and companies are trying to understand and make sense of them,” says Tom Delaney, director of government affairs for the Professional Landcare Network (PLANET). “They’re saying ‘Where do we want to go with this? How to we want to be identified? Where’s our commitment as a company and at what cost?’” LEED is one of the words Delaney refers to, and industry experts say at the very least contractors need to be able to speak the language of their customers. If they have commercial clients, LEED will increasingly be part of that lingo.
 
“Contractors should educate themselves and become aware of things like LEED,” says landscape industry consultant Jim Huston. “From a marketing perspective, it could be smart business.” But Huston emphasizes contractors should analyze how LEED or any new service area would fit within a company’s existing framework so it isn’t treated as merely a fad or marketing ploy.

BACKGROUND. The USGBC created LEED to emphasize sustainable building practices and to provide a practical tool to measure results for building owners and occupants. LEED for New Construction was released in 2000, followed by LEED for Commercial Interiors and Existing Buildings in 2004, Core & Shell in 2006 and Homes in 2007. LEED for Neighborhood Development, Retail and Healthcare are in a pilot phase.
 
There are 1,585 LEED-certified projects (70 percent of those are new construction) as of July. An indicator of green-building growth is the number of LEED-registered projects – 13,000.  Registered projects are the ones in the works, in either the design or construction phases or nearing certification.
 
One way LEED may have an impact on the landscape industry is through the facilities that house landscape operations. Though most LEED-certified buildings have been office-type facilities, there has been a steady increase in so-called blue-collar buildings seeking LEED certification, according to an article by green building consultant Charles Lockwood in the May issue of the Harvard Business Review. Chicago-based Christy Webber Landscapes moved into its LEED Platinum-rated facility in December 2006 (see “Green Offices – Inside and Out” on page 116), and Laytonsville, Mass.-based Ruppert Nurseries is seeking various levels of LEED certification for three buildings at its new headquarters.
 
But perhaps more importantly for the future, opportunities exist from a service-provider standpoint. “Landscape professionals can play an important role in green building as sustainable landscaping techniques are an important aspect of achieving LEED certification,” says Ashley Katz, a USGBC spokeswoman. For example, projects can earn points for water-efficient landscaping, green roofs and other landscape-related components.
 
Exactly how these new service offerings will shake out – whether contractors will bring LEED knowledge to a project as a value-added component or as a stand-alone money-making venture – is still up in the air. But it’s clear that understanding LEED opportunities will be necessary as green facilities proliferate.
 
Consider that by 2010 one-tenth of commercial construction starts are expected to be green, according to the “McGraw Hill Green Building Smart Market Report 2006.” In addition, major real estate firms are committing to green buildings. Commercial real estate services giant CB Richard Ellis announced last year it would be “carbon neutral” by 2010.
 
The commercial property business has hit a green tipping point, Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA) Chair Brenna Walraven said late last year. “The number of tenants, cities and states choosing green is growing rapidly,” she says in an article in Urban Land magazine. “In no more than five years – and maybe in as little as 24 to 36 months – [building owners and managers] face a competitive disadvantage if your building is not green and operating efficiently.”
 
LEED-ING THE WAY. Some contractors have recognized these realities and are positioning themselves as leaders to provide more value to their clients. Heads Up Landscape Contractors (HULC) in Albuquerque, N.M., is one landscape firm that’s created a LEED-related service. Through its Heads Up Green division, the company provides sustainable landscape and irrigation design, participation in and guidance for LEED project teams and assistance with the certification and documentation process.
 
This new venture is a work in progress, says Aaron Zahm, landscape architect and a LEED-accredited professional (LEED AP) with HULC. “Heads Up Green has a lot of potential and we’re incrementally adding more services to it,” he says. “By having LEED APs on staff and showing we have experience with sustainable design, we’re hoping to get clients to integrate the landscape and irrigation aspects of their buildings from the start, rather than just pulling them in as an afterthought.”
 
For a design/build firm, getting involved in a project as early as possible is ideal so designers can have an impact on how grading, drainage and stormwater are incorporated into the plan, Zahm says. Plus, it builds a stronger bond with the clients and other professionals involved in the project, which is beneficial for relationship-building and loyalty down the road.
 
In addition to consulting with clients on the LEED point-earning components of their landscape, there’s an opportunity for HULC to serve as a sort of project manager and coordinate the certification documentation because Zahm has LEED-AP credentials. Project management and paperwork duties are often completed by a LEED consultant, but not all the time, and a consultant-less client could pick up an extra point towards certification for having a LEED AP like Zahm involved in its certification.
 
Though HULC has not yet completed a job in this capacity, Zahm says charging for this service would be at a rate similar to design fees. The going rates for sustainability and green landscape consulting vary widely, but are in the several hundred dollars per hour range, Huston says.
 
While there may be revenue tied to LEED-AP status down the road, the greatest benefit is credibility, Zahm says. “For a client pursing LEED certification, they feel comfortable knowing they’re working with someone who can move that process along.”

MORE THAN CONSTRUCTION. Many landscape professionals think of LEED only to be a function of the design/build process, but that doesn’t have to be the case. Maintenance firms can provide value to their clients through LEED knowledge, too, as Heaviland Enterprises, Vista, Calif., has proven. One of the fastest-growing LEED categories is Existing Buildings (EB), which is only four years old and said to be a complicated process. At this time LEED-EB certifications only represent about 5 percent of all LEED-certified buildings and about 12 percent of registered projects, but that could change quickly with help from efforts like the Clinton Climate Initiative’s $5-billion Large Buildings Retrofit Program, which has pledged to reduce energy use and carbon emission in existing buildings worldwide. Landscape professionals have an opportunity to help their property manager clients transition their landscapes to LEED-EB standards. “It’s a great way for us to show our expertise, but also to generate enhancement work,” says Bob Rogers, Heaviland’s director of business development, citing irrigation, drainage and water containment upgrades, mulching projects and more as enhancement opportunities.
 
“The time is now to use that old word ‘proactive’ and be on top of the game,” Rogers says. “With LEED, by networking with BOMA and marketing efforts, we’re trying to create a buzz that we’re a sustainable landscape service provider.”
 
So far, it’s working. Heaviland secured a Class A commercial property last year because of its understanding of “green” as it relates to the landscape. The property’s portfolio manager has made a commitment to LEED-EB certification for a dozen properties, and Heaviland was on the forefront of helping the client understand LEED as it relates to the landscape. “LEED-EB is pretty complicated; it requires quite a commitment from a building owner,” Rogers says. “We try to understand it from our clients’ point of view. They’re too busy to figure out the associated costs and recognizable savings of converting to a more sustainable approach. So we’re adding value to our existing customers through account management.”
 
One tactic Rogers has used in addition to consulting with current clients, is to give presentations on this topic to local building owners and managers. He’s presented a LEED PowerPoint at BOMA meetings and also has co-hosted informal education sessions with other commercial real estate service providers (such as lot sweeping companies and lighting companies). The vendors bring portfolio managers up to speed on the latest LEED standards and sustainability opportunities across all their areas of expertise.
 
“To capitalize on marketplace changes, you have to come in as an expert,” Rogers says. “The companies that respond quicker, change their business model and identify opportunities will be the ones that succeed. People still think that LEED or green is a hot button right now and then it will go away. But whether it’s energy efficiency for lighting, sustainable landscaping or water efficiency, it’s going to be an issue from here on out.” LL