Higher Occupancy, Higher Lease Rates for Green Buildings

obsolete.” As described, however, the study shows a correlation between higher value and green labels, but it lacks evidence that LEED and Energy Star are the cause of that increased value. These results could just be reflecting the tendency for higher-value properties to pursue certification. Either way, however, it shows that the commercial real estate market associates green performance with value.

Since 2006, CoStar has been noting in its database whether a building has achieved LEED certification through the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) or if it has earned the federal Energy Star label. In its study, CoStar compared the 973 Energy Star buildings and the 355 LEED-certified buildings in its database against similar conventional buildings and then aggregated that data into averages for occupancy rates, rental rates, and sale prices per square foot (see table). Together, the green buildings represent 351 million square feet (32.6 million m