If you’re going to office in what looks to be the greenest skyscraper in the country, you should also have a sustainable business strategy to go along with it.  One Bryant Park, soon to be known as the Bank of America Tower, is the perfect place for a company that just announced a $20B initiative to support environmental lending.  Designed by Cook + Fox Architects and developed by the Durst Organization, One Bryant Park is shooting for LEED Platinum certification.  It’s a 2.1 million sf, 54-story, crystalline office tower located right in midtown Manhattan and is slated for completion in 2008. 

ABC News recently ran an article on some of the more interesting green features of the building.  Interestingly, it will only cost about 1-2% extra (of a total $1.2B) to include all the green additions, but those are expected to be paid for within a 2-4 year window as a result of saved energy expenses.  That’s the business case for green building.  There will be rainwater capture, floor-to-ceiling windows for natural lighting, advanced double wall technology to allow light and block heat, air cleaned of 95% of its particle matter, a floor duct air system controllable in each room or office, three state-of-the-art natural gas fuel cells to create on-site energy, building concrete made of 45% blast furnace slag for stronger construction, and daylight dimming and LED lights for reduced electric usage.  The result:  these green additions have the anticipated benefits of reducing energy consumption by 50%, reducing potable water consumption by 50%, reducing storm water contribution by 95%, and using about 50% recycled materials in construction.  That’s a lighter footprint. 

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1. Bank of America Announces $20 Billion Environmental Initiative – BofA announced a $20 billion initiative to support the growth of environmentally sustainable business activity to address global climate change. Bank of America’s ten-year initiative encourages development of environmentally sustainable business practices through lending, investing, philanthropy and the creation of new products and services.
2. Residential Green Building Slow to Gain Momentum – The major homebuilders, who account for 80 percent of all homebuilding activity in the nation, face a unique challenge in implementing green building on a widespread scale. Many have added energy-saving features and experimented with environmentally friendly materials but have not yet been able to sign on a critical mass of buyers willing to pay more for them.
3. Easy, Eco-friendly Ways to Put Those 21 Extra Hours of Evening Daylight to Good Use This Spring – Tomorrow, the entire nation will spring forward three weeks early, gaining an extra 21 hours of evening daylight. Since energy conservation is the driving force for the early time change, Lowe’s is encouraging homeowners to utilize these hours wisely with some simple, green projects that would make Mother Nature smile.

Don’t forget to spring forward tonight. 

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.

Sustainable business entrepreneurship requires sophisticated financiers, so I wanted to let the Jetson Green readers know about an innovative, newly-founded banking institution called "New Resource Bank."  They are "financing sustainable resources in [their] community."  The bank was started by a group of entrepreneurs with expertise in the banking industry, and their start-up story is revealing:  240 founding shareholders subscribed to $24.75 M of the bank’s stock offering, and the community backed it as well bringing the initial subscription amount to $35 M–that’s a 60% over-subscription.  This made it one of the largest initial capitalizations for a start-up bank in Northern California.  Talk about suppressed demand for sustainably-minded banking institutions and investments!

They are all about green.  The bricks + mortar bank was certified LEED-CI Gold.  Plus, they announced an alliance with SunPower Corp. (company that manufactures high-efficiency solar cells and panels) to provide one-step financing of residential solar energy installations.  Under the program, customers work out a home-equity type loan that allows monthly payments on the solar installation while they save money on their electricity bills.  Factoring in governmental incentives, and if there are local incentives, you could end up with a mad case of energy and financial independence.  Typical financing is for 25 years on a system ranging from $20,000-40,000 (before federal, state, + local incentives).  If you’re a Californian, after the Governator’s program kicks in, there should be no reason not to go solar.  Tip via GreenBiz.

In case you haven’t noticed, Hines is one of those smart real estate companies that is leading the way in sustainable real estate.  They’re committed to sustainable building and I recently blogged a quote from Hines Chairman + Founder Mr. Gerald D. Hines where he said "sustainability has become a key component of development."  Well, it looks like they’re throwing more money at that philosophy, and I think this press release should be a wake up call to all those developers out there that are just throwing up non-green buildings, willy nilly. 

Hines announced the closing of a Hines CalPERS Green Development Fund (HCG), which is capitalized with +$120 Million.  This equity investment will allow the development of more than $500 M in high performance, sustainable office buildings throughout the United States, certified through the LEED-CS (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Core and Shell Program).  What’s even more significant than the amount of money that will be invested in green building development, is the fact that CalPERS is the nation’s largest pension fund.  This is really going to accelerate the tipping point in green development because CalPERS is such a huge player.

Hines Senior VP and fund manager said, "We have long tried to persuade tenants that there are significant bottom-line benefits to sustainable development and build out. Fortunately, the green movement is gaining steam as the public become more conscious of its benefits.  The real estate industry is finally ready for green."  I couldn’t agree more.  If you can’t tell, this is a big damn deal. 

Extra Links:
Hines Press Release [September 27, 2006]
Hines Official Website
CalPERS Official Website