How do you write a green lease when you don't know what you don't know?

Transparency as a business model informs buyers and sellers of a way to foster a new model of cooperation as contrasted to the old model which was "genteely" adversarial. So too, Sustainability can become "la raison d'être" for landlords and tenants to step out of their traditional adversarial roles. While working towards mutually benefitting solutions and coming together with the purpose of meeting Sustainability objectives, the desired outcome is that we grow our industry at a better rate and create better built environments for people and planet. Each lease transaction is unique to the parties involved. Central to the discussion is the types of and costs of improvement, who pays, who benefits, allocation of benefits and projected payback period. With myriad choices, only some of which truly optimize outcomes, be clear about what you want to accomplish whether you're a building owner/manager or a tenant, and communicate your needs up front. So, how do you write a green lease when you don't know what you don't know? Consider the starting points: * BOMA's "Guide to Writing a Commercial Real Estate Lease, Including Green Lease Language," features instructions to help building owners and managers write green operations and management practices into their lease agreements. * REALpac (Real Property Association of Canada): "The REALpac Green Lease Guide," and the companion Office GREENLEASE, encourage reduced use of renewable and non-renewable resources by both landlord and tenants, and establish a more sustainable operating platform for office buildings. * Excerpted from USGBC's Greenbuild Conference (Boston, November 2008). "A green lease can help guide you and your landlord throughout the term of your lease on all matters relating to sustainability and energy use in your space. Points to be addressed and legal components are detailed in their report." * "Energy-Efficiency Lease Guidance to Address the "Split Incentive" is a tool for both owners and tenants, published by Cycle-7 and NRDC: emerged from the Green Lease Forum in New York City. Footnotes: BOMA's Green Lease Guide visit The BOMA Store at shop.boma.org. The REALpac "Green Lease Guide for Commercial Office Tenants", and the REALpac "Office GREENLEASE(TM) National Standard Lease for Single-Building Projects, v.1.03, 2010" are available as free downloads at www.realpac.ca. USGBC's Greenbuild Conference (Boston, November 2008) and "Energy-Efficiency Lease Guidance to Address the "Split Incentive" can both be found on www.downtownny.com/goinggreen/green-toolkit Nadine Cino, LEED AP, is the CEO & co-inventor of Tyga-Box Systems, Inc., New York, N.Y.