Some cities require LEED or green buildings.  Some cities fast track the permitting process for green buildings.  Some cities provide tax incentives or some sort of creative financing for green buildings.  Nevertheless, developers say the economics of green buildings don’t work–they say the government needs to do more to support green buildings.  On the other hand, the EPA says the government provides enough support via federal tax breaks up to $1.80 per square foot and other miscellaneous energy conservation programs.  What do you say? 

The fact is, the boom in green buildings is being driven by (1) tenant demand and (2) federal, state, and local incentives.  But are there any other drivers pushing the green movement? 

1. Social Pressure – depending on your business model, green buildings may be required to keep the sustainable message consistent corporate wide. 
2. Lower Operating Costs – even if green buildings are more expensive to build, they are cheaper to operate, in terms of maintenance, water consumption, and energy consumption. 
3. Marketing Advantage – this is related to #1, but a little different.  Caution on the green washing, but a green strategy can be good for (re) positioning according to the competition or targeting specific consumers. 
4. Recruiting Magnet – instead of developing a corporate presence on Myspace or Second Life, why not do something substantial by making a difference?  Some of the best talent is going to companies that have a presence in savvy, green buildings. 
5. Impairment – I’ve read from both Harvard Business Review and Ernst & Young that non-green buildings are going to be obsolete and could face big-time impairment charges. 

Green buildings are leasing up and other buildings tend towards higher vacancies (lower rents).  The best talent is going to the greenest companies.  Oil and coal companies are irritating customers and worrying shareholders because they won’t change their ways.  People are choosing companies with their wallets–they stop frequenting environmentally insensitive companies.  Water and energy is becoming a constrained resource and businesses that lower their costs by using less resources have a competitive advantage over competition.  These intangibles need to be considered when thinking about green buildings, because after all, it’s about value not cost. 

1. The Law Firm of Holland & Hart Announces New Global Climate Change Practice – The firm is the first and only law firm based in the Rocky Mountains to organize a practice group concentrating on this rapidly emerging area of law and policy.  Holland & Hart’s Global Climate Change Practice Group consists of attorneys who counsel clients on the climate change aspects of energy and natural resources development, industrial energy use, regulatory compliance, renewable energy and energy infrastructure projects, corporate disclosure and governance, carbon markets, litigation, and government relations.
2. New Resource Bank Aims to Make it Easier to Build Green – A new banking program here aims to encourage developers and investors to start green building projects by offering financial incentives like providing more money at a lower cost, higher loan-to value, and lower interest rates.
3. Texas Issues First Lease for Geothermal Energy Exploration and Development along Gulf Coast – Texas has awarded the state’s first lease for geothermal energy production to Ormat Technologies, Inc., which plans to explore the renewable energy’s potential along seven Gulf Coast counties.  The company paid $55,645, or $5 an acre, for the right to explore 11,129 acres for pockets of hot water and steam under the ocean floor, the General Land Office announced Tuesday.
4. Building Greener and Cheaper than LEED – While many argue over the costs and benefits of requiring LEED-certification, some affordable housing developers have shown that building green doesn’t require following the program’s recommendations.

1. U.S. Homebuyers Will Pay Premium For Green Homes – More than half of homebuilders surveyed report that buyers are willing to pay a premium of between 11-25 percent for green-built homes. The same builders report that the average green homebuyer is between the ages of 35-50 with a college degree and fair understanding of green products.
2. CBS RADIO Launches its First ‘Green’ Focused Radio Station – CBS RADIO announced the launch of 94.7 The Globe, its first "green" focused radio station. The Washington D.C. station will operate using renewable energy to power its 50,000 watt signal. This move will contribute to lowering the threat of global warming through the purchase of energy resources generated by wind. Additionally, station vehicles will be replaced with hybrid models.  See also 94.7 The Globe. 
3. Wal-Mart CEO Lee Scott Unveils ‘Sustainability 360′ – President and CEO Lee Scott today unveiled "Sustainability 360" — a company-wide emphasis on taking sustainability beyond reducing the company’s direct environmental footprint to engaging Wal-Mart’s associates, suppliers, communities and customers.  Scott also announced the company’s intention to introduce "Global Innovation Projects" — one of which is a challenge for Wal-Mart associates and suppliers to start thinking about how to remove non-renewable energy from the products the company sells.

Here’s the situation.  You have two new 15-story buildings in a good location near downtown.  Both buildings have received several inquiries from potential tenants.  Building #1 is a traditionally-built, modern facility.  Building #2 is similar, but it’s green (LEED-CS + LEED-CI).  A lease for 40,000 square feet of space at #1 is $35 and #2 is $36.50 per square feet.  Would you pay the extra $1.50 per square foot to lease space in the green building?  We’re talking about a serious premium.  I’m interested to hear what your perspective is on this. 

According to the U.S. Green Building Council, these rents are justifiable for a few reasons.  I’m going to clip out a few comments from their article, but feel free to read the entire thing. 

• Organizations with business models reflecting sustainability will be more likely to pay the premium. 
• Although green buildings are going up at an incredible rate, most of these are for use by the owners and most developers view speculative green developments as risky. 
• There is a dearth of tenable green lease space and requests for green space are falling on deaf ears. 
• The market is tenant driven right now and tenants have had success cooperating with owners to make green improvements or renovations. 

I think there will be a paradigm shift, but I don’t know how it will happen.  Somehow, the values of individuals and organizations need to shift towards an appreciation of sustainability, and that will create serious, mainstream adoption of green buildings.  Maybe the impetus will be regulatory?  Self-imposed?  Strategic?  I learned in Starting a Business 101, that some of the best opportunities in business become available due to a void or an absence in the market.  If it’s true that some customers and tenants are requesting green space, but the inventory isn’t available, there’s a void in the market that will be filled by the first innovators.  The rest will wake up some day and think, "I thought green buildings were for hippies?!  What’s going on?"  Which is partially an answer to my post the other day.  Via Appraisal Podcasts. 

As you all know, Carnival of the Green is basically a carnival of blog posts that gets passed around from one green site to another.  Posting happens on Mondays.  Treehugger graciously supports the endeavor, so pop on over there if you’re interested in hosting a carnival or submitting an article (carnivalofgreen [at] gmail dot com).  Last week, Carnival #61 was at Clay & Wattles, and next week, Carnival #63 will be at Nonoscience.

That said, I received a ton of articles and commentary, a virtual smattering of diverse topics, so go ahead and check ‘em out.  Here we go in no particular order:

• Greening the Green Festival (Video = 5:53 min.) – by Melissa Mansfield + Averan Gale at LAGreenLiving. 
• What’s Next for Nature?  Innovation and a Few Ads – by Victoria E at Victoria E. 
• Eco-Fashion Q&A: Denim Repair and Cheap Style – by Victoria E at GroovyGreen. 
• Geologists Find Strong Evidence of Climate Change – by Barbara Feiner at OrganicAuthority.com. 
• Ecological Decline "A Greater Threat than International Terrorism": The Challenge for Business – by Leon Gettler at Sox First. 
• Living with Ed Makes Fun of Environmentalists and Should be Cancelled – by David at The Good Human. 
• Beyond the Green Corporation – by Rich at Queercents. 
• Beware of Greenwashing at the Grocery – by Micaela at Mindful Momma. 
• It’s Time Again for Nuclear (with 150 coal plants on the drawing board)! – by Jake Kearns at Real Green Tips. 
• Birth of an Advocate: From Sports Cars to Hybrids – by Beo at GroovyGreen. 
• Barenaked Ladies Look After Their Mother + ‘Firefighter’ Blows Smokescreen at Fire Retardant Legislation – by Matthew Fried at Enviroblog. 
• Weiners & Burgers Heating the Planet More than Cars – by Sally Kneidel at Veggie Revolution. 
• Harvesting Justice (marginalization & health risks of farm workers) – by Harlan Weikle (Editor of Greener Magazine) at Veggie Revolution. 
• Fresh Water Tanganyika – by Greener News Room at Greener Magazine. 
• Envirolet Composting Toilet in Stage Production of "The War Next Door" – by Scott Smith at Envirolet Buzz. 
• State of the (Green) Union – by Don Bosch at The Evangelical Ecologist. 
• Tear Up CRP Ground and Contracts for Ethanol? + Now It’s the Ethanol Surge – by Ken Cook at Mulchblog. 
• Illegal Coffee Growing Threatens Wildlife, Kraft Major Buyer + Follow Up: Nestle & Starbucks Respond to Illegal Coffee Report by The Bird Barista at Coffee and Conservation. 
• Keeping Wildlife Coverage Wild, Engaging – by Jeremy Bruno at The Voltage Gate. 
• Professor Quippy: Climate Change Scientists Get Angry – by Mark A. Rayner at The Skwib.
• High Anxiety: Thoughts on the Sustainability of High-Rise Developments – by Roger Butterfield at Words and Pictures. 
• Green is Making Me See Red (L-O-N-G) – by Wenchypoo at Wisdom From Wenchypoo’s Mental Wastebasket. 
• Top Socially Responsible Healthcare and Pharmaceutical Firms – by H.S. Ayoub at BioHealth Investor. 
• Jim Webb: Is a Star Born? – by Rey Thomas at The Thomas Political Report. 
• Patching Holey Clothes – by Kevin Surbaugh at Becoming & Staying Debt Free. 

That’s about 28 articles, so this should be enough to keep you busy for the next week.  Thanks for letting me participate Treehugger!!