Pitching Green: The Benefits of Green Technology and Sustainable Building

The term 'green building' generally refers to an approach to make building improvements more energy efficient and reduce the negative impacts on human health and the environment. In 1998, the U.S. Green Building Council, a coalition of building industry leaders, first launched the LEED (Leadership In Energy and Environmental Design) Green Building Rating System in order to grade buildings in such areas as site selection, energy and water consumption, indoor air quality, and use of renewable materials. The U.S. Green Building Council has developed separate LEED rating systems for, among others, new construction, existing buildings, and commercial interiors. Despite its increased acceptance, commercial developers and building owners wishing to undertake a green development or renovation may have to justify to investors and lenders why a project should incorporate green technology and, therefore, 'go beyond code.'

While some of the documented benefits of green building, such as increased worker productivity and improved morale, may make a project more attractive to the ultimate tenants and other occupants of the building, these benefits may prove to be difficult to pitch to investors, lenders, and executives focused on the bottom line. How well the developer or owner tailors its pitch to the audience frequently holding the purse strings can determine whether the project is added to the growing list of LEED-certified projects, or takes a more traditional path with no green technology and, therefore, fewer long-term benefits to the developer or owner.