By Scott McBride
Reflecting on the Rockville Building case I wonder what other tools can be used to help align incentives of landlords and tenants to invest in sustainable building, whether from an energy efficiency, carbon, or materials point of view. In the case there were several approaches for the landlord to recoup his investment through an energy service agreements (ESA) or managed services agreements (MESA), which focus on structuring the cash flows or by using an energy service company to complete the retrofit. This brings me to think about the impact of outside agencies such as LEED, Energy Star, or Green Globes that issue “green” ratings on buildings. Will these silver, gold, and platinum rated buildings help eliminate some of the uncertainty for landlords and enable them to achieve the “green premium” discussed in the case and if so will it be worth it after investing the time and cost of these certifications? Continue reading
Sustainable Cities: Finance, Design, and Innovation 