Public Policy, Walking the New Green Mile & Thinking Outside-the-Box



Using No More Than 4 Lines, Connect The Nine Dots
Without Lifting your Pen
Hint: Think Outside-The-Box
Solution

 Now is the time to think outside-the-box in real estate.  This is true for every segment of the real estate industry, including the green building movement.  Massive changes are currently underway that are affecting every aspect of the industry from lending to closing.  It's a complete over-haul.  Parts of the industry such as commercial lease space in suburban areas are struggling while others segments such as multi-family are doing well. Overall, it seems, green building and sustainability are gaining momentum. Much of this momentum, however, is being prompted by governmental incentives such as tax credits or new legislation which mandates greater energy efficiency.  Across the board, public policy is definitely having a dramatic impact on the building and development industry.  More and more legislation such as the federal stimulus bill and HVCC has been passed or is being considered at all levels of government, the long-term impact of which is still unknown.  For instance, cities such as Austin and Dallas are introducing minimum green building standards through local building codes, and the US government is requiring that its new buildings have at least a LEED Silver designation.  This fact made me curious to learn whether or not the White House is LEED certified and here is what I discovered:

White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) spokesperson, Christine Glunz, says the effort to get the White House to LEED certification includes energy and water systems as well as waste. She believes it is vital to consider toxicity and life-cycle when making purchases for facilities. CEQ is looking to reduce the carbon footprint of the White House by implementing computerized energy management systems, automatic light sensors that turn off in unoccupied rooms and low-flow water valves. Paints and sealers with low or no volatile organic compounds (VOCs), biodegradable cleaners and recycled equipment will all be used by White House groundskeepers and engineers, according to a White House spokesperson. Window films that will lower UV rays and save energy will also be added.

According to an article on the National Geographic website, any leftover materials from White House renovations and demolitions will be donated to local reuse organizations. If President Obama continues to enforce such eco-friendly changes throughout his term, he will be on the right track to making the White House more of a "green house," proving with a LEED certification that he can lead Americans to a greener world.

I was unable to find any evidence that the White House has actually received a LEED certification of any kind or that it is still pursuing one.  Although there is still a lot of lip-service being paid to the idea of sustainability, it is a wonderful concept that is slowly gaining traction in the US and abroad. However, I don't think the green building movement has reached critical mass in the US, but the USGBC and LEED are still very young.  I do think more legislation and more green building will occur in the US but it's safe to say that the change will take place slowly.  Moving in the right direction is positive but we must be cautious not to overburden the real estate industry with more unnecessary and costly initiatives that are cost prohibitive. Most cities have experienced a steady decline in building permits and new construction and this trend is likely to continue until more new good jobs are created.  Cities will need to rethink some of their more restrictive codes such as high impact fees in order to spur growth.

Overall, I have learned a great deal in the Sustainable Development course.  The course challenged me to think about green building from a much broader perspective than I previously had.  There are also many green related topics that I want to learn more about:

• The Commissioning Process
• Green Leases
• Costs & Paybacks
• LEED Buildings Databases
• Renewable Energy Credits
• On-Bill Financing
• Building Information Modeling
• Net-Zero Buildings
• The EPA's Role in Green Building
• LEED Designations
• Certified
• Silver
• Gold
• Platinum
• Green Tract Home Builders
• Meritage
• Lennar 

For me, the desire to continue learning about a topic is the sign of a good course.  UTA's Sustainable Development course taught by Dr. Russell Peterson accomplished that.  I especially enjoyed the field trips to the following places:  TCC Downtown Ft. Worth Campus, Dallas Post Office, Zang Triangle, and BRIT.  The BRIT and TCC field trips were my favorites.  Many thanks to Dr. Peterson for challenging us to 'walk the green mile' and to think outside-the-box regarding sustainability and its impact on the real estate industry.