"SMART” Office Leasing Strategies are Inherently “GREEN”

By Benjamin Osgood, The Tenant Advocate

A good commercial real estate broker approaches each transaction with the goal of getting the best deal and terms possible for their client, while identifying a space that will maximize employee comfort and productivity. The broker also plays a key role in influencing how the new office is built out and constructed, as well as where the office is located.

Sustainable business practices just happen to exist within the intersection of all of these goals; and if they do not, they should.

There are many opportunities throughout a commercial lease transaction to save the client money, and many of them also have the added benefit of being more responsible decisions, environmentally. Here are a few examples of leasing strategies that easily align to accomplish both smart business and environmental goals:

THE LOCATION OF THE OFFICE

Having an office located within a high-density area makes a lot of business sense; it makes a company more accessible to a wider and deeper labor and customer pool, and associated car parking costs can be reduced by simply being connected to multiple mass transit options. The positive environmental impact of removing single-passenger cars from the road are many, and employees who bike or walk to the office are not only happier and healthier, but more productive while at work.

Giving preference to LEED Certified buildings is a great start to any office search, as the ownership has already taken the necessary steps to reduce energy, waste and water consumption, and increase indoor air quality.

THE OFFICE BUILD-OUT

By identifying an office that most closely matches the client’s desired configuration, a better rental rate can be negotiated since the landlord’s cost of construction will be lower. However, scaling back the scope of the tenant improvements also helps to reduce added pressure on new resources as well as minimizing construction waste that would have otherwise been sent to a landfill.

Boosting employee health and comfort also increases productivity, and one of the most effective ways to do that is to increase access to natural daylight. This is most easily accomplished in an open office plan along a window line, however if private offices are necessary, then utilizing glass will allow sunlight to permeate the office. If the tenant is located on the top floor of the building, skylights are often inexpensive and effective. Increasing the availability of natural sunlight simultaneously reduces the need for overhead lighting – and reducing energy consumption leads to cost savings.

FURNISHING THE OFFICE

With the sheer surplus of used and refurbished office furniture available today, purchasing new is most often a waste of money. The leasing broker has relationships with many furniture vendors who can provide an office tenant with quality used furniture, usually 30-50% below the cost of purchasing new. But in addition to saving the client money, the broker has again helped reduce pressure on new resources and helped divert used furniture from a landfill. Additionally, new furniture can also be extremely toxic and can leach harmful VOC’s (volatile organic compounds), formaldehyde and other toxic chemicals into the air. Used office furniture will have already off-gassed these fumes and will therefore not negatively affect the indoor air quality of the office.

There are of course many, many opportunities to align sound commercial leasing strategies with sustainable business practices, especially when the real estate process begins with this focus and awareness. Identifying the intersection of these goals is not only SMART, but GREEN.

What are some other smart, green strategies you've encountered?

View original blog post >>