Comments on: CoStar, Owner’s Counsel Addressing Liability Aspects of Marketing Green Buildings http://www.greenrealestatelaw.com/2009/02/liability-aspects-of-marketing-green-buildings/ Current issues in sustainable building law for owners, builders, and design professionals. Thu, 11 Mar 2010 04:32:05 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9 hourly 1 By: RFP Considerations for Tenants Considering Certification Under LEED 2009 for Commercial Interiors | Green Real Estate Law Journal http://www.greenrealestatelaw.com/2009/02/liability-aspects-of-marketing-green-buildings/comment-page-1/#comment-1091 RFP Considerations for Tenants Considering Certification Under LEED 2009 for Commercial Interiors | Green Real Estate Law Journal Fri, 19 Feb 2010 02:24:11 +0000 http://www.greenrealestatelaw.com/?p=220#comment-1091 [...] are not giving them lip service with respect to their building’s LEED certification status; as we have noted frequently here at GRELJ, these types of misrepresentations (whether innocent or not) remain a persistent problem across the [...] [...] are not giving them lip service with respect to their building’s LEED certification status; as we have noted frequently here at GRELJ, these types of misrepresentations (whether innocent or not) remain a persistent problem across the [...]

]]> By: Andrew http://www.greenrealestatelaw.com/2009/02/liability-aspects-of-marketing-green-buildings/comment-page-1/#comment-112 Andrew Sat, 07 Mar 2009 19:57:21 +0000 http://www.greenrealestatelaw.com/?p=220#comment-112 This is a tricky issue, for sure. One of the companies we own is doing the LEED consulting on the project first mentioned in the NYT article and another one of our companies is doing the marketing. Despite carefully and repeatedly discussing with the marketing team how to advertise the project, one of our agents did post an ad with a misleading headline. Thankfully, it was properly addressed in the body of the advertisement, but it's a perfect example of the ongoing communication struggle between technical experts and marketing experts. This is a tricky issue, for sure. One of the companies we own is doing the LEED consulting on the project first mentioned in the NYT article and another one of our companies is doing the marketing. Despite carefully and repeatedly discussing with the marketing team how to advertise the project, one of our agents did post an ad with a misleading headline. Thankfully, it was properly addressed in the body of the advertisement, but it’s a perfect example of the ongoing communication struggle between technical experts and marketing experts.

]]> By: Taking Liberties with LEED - Green Inc. Blog - NYTimes.com http://www.greenrealestatelaw.com/2009/02/liability-aspects-of-marketing-green-buildings/comment-page-1/#comment-71 Taking Liberties with LEED - Green Inc. Blog - NYTimes.com Thu, 19 Feb 2009 16:39:35 +0000 http://www.greenrealestatelaw.com/?p=220#comment-71 [...] LEED-accredited attorney Stephen Del Percio in the Green Real Estate Law Journal earlier this month: For the owner that sticks “LEED Gold Certified” on project marketing materials, in [...] [...] LEED-accredited attorney Stephen Del Percio in the Green Real Estate Law Journal earlier this month: For the owner that sticks “LEED Gold Certified” on project marketing materials, in [...]

]]> By: Mark Rabkin http://www.greenrealestatelaw.com/2009/02/liability-aspects-of-marketing-green-buildings/comment-page-1/#comment-54 Mark Rabkin Wed, 11 Feb 2009 20:17:53 +0000 http://www.greenrealestatelaw.com/?p=220#comment-54 To quote Ujjval Vyas from a recent conversation, LEED is not a magic wand. You can't expect that just because you certified your project, that all your dreams of lower energy bills, higher asset value and all sorts of tax benefits will come falling out of the sky. As Brian points out, there are numerous ways in which the public is rushing to cash in on anything "green." Without careful risk management with your legal counsel and risk professional, this will only lead to some pretty creative litigation pertaining to failure to achieve specific levels of certification, reduced energy costs that don't meet the owner's expectations, or you name it. Mark To quote Ujjval Vyas from a recent conversation, LEED is not a magic wand. You can’t expect that just because you certified your project, that all your dreams of lower energy bills, higher asset value and all sorts of tax benefits will come falling out of the sky.

As Brian points out, there are numerous ways in which the public is rushing to cash in on anything “green.” Without careful risk management with your legal counsel and risk professional, this will only lead to some pretty creative litigation pertaining to failure to achieve specific levels of certification, reduced energy costs that don’t meet the owner’s expectations, or you name it.

Mark

]]> By: Brian Anderson http://www.greenrealestatelaw.com/2009/02/liability-aspects-of-marketing-green-buildings/comment-page-1/#comment-52 Brian Anderson Wed, 11 Feb 2009 15:03:06 +0000 http://www.greenrealestatelaw.com/?p=220#comment-52 Great post as usual, Stephen. I think Andrew did a wonderful job intereview folks from around the country and integrating a range of issues related to LEED greenwashing. But to me, his article focused on only 1 kind of greenwashing--misstating your LEED rating. But in my experience, I've seen at least 3 kinds of greenwashing occuring. The first, as Andrew describes in the article, is a mistating of LEED nomenclature or LEED state or project caste. The second is whether there is an actual correlation between the LEED points achieved for a particular project and the green attributes we so often hear about--increased energy efficiency, higher lease rates, great valuation, improved health and productivity gains. Do the oft-cited studies hold up under scrutiny? Can any combination of LEED points bring these benefits? The third involves a lack of any mechanism to force ongoing green practices. (As we've discussed, Stephen, I'll soon be writing an article on this topic.) Is a building still green when a bldg manager or new owner decides it's too expensive to continue replacing those filters with the same MERV rated filters? or to turn up the thermostats or replace the lightbulbs with cheaper/mercury containing bulbs or to stop paying the green roof contractor maintaining the plants? As good as Andrew's article is, it only deals with the first kind of greenwashing listed and implicitly assumes that if LEED certified, a project is immune to greenwashing. I remain skeptical and will be writing about a number of ways that I think we can provide incentives to eliminate such greenwashing. Best, Brian Great post as usual, Stephen. I think Andrew did a wonderful job intereview folks from around the country and integrating a range of issues related to LEED greenwashing. But to me, his article focused on only 1 kind of greenwashing–misstating your LEED rating. But in my experience, I’ve seen at least 3 kinds of greenwashing occuring. The first, as Andrew describes in the article, is a mistating of LEED nomenclature or LEED state or project caste. The second is whether there is an actual correlation between the LEED points achieved for a particular project and the green attributes we so often hear about–increased energy efficiency, higher lease rates, great valuation, improved health and productivity gains. Do the oft-cited studies hold up under scrutiny? Can any combination of LEED points bring these benefits? The third involves a lack of any mechanism to force ongoing green practices. (As we’ve discussed, Stephen, I’ll soon be writing an article on this topic.) Is a building still green when a bldg manager or new owner decides it’s too expensive to continue replacing those filters with the same MERV rated filters? or to turn up the thermostats or replace the lightbulbs with cheaper/mercury containing bulbs or to stop paying the green roof contractor maintaining the plants? As good as Andrew’s article is, it only deals with the first kind of greenwashing listed and implicitly assumes that if LEED certified, a project is immune to greenwashing. I remain skeptical and will be writing about a number of ways that I think we can provide incentives to eliminate such greenwashing. Best, Brian

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