The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has upheld the Western District of Washington’s decision in BIAW et al. v. Washington State Building Code Council, allowing disputed amendments to the state’s energy efficiency code to take effect under the building code exception to federal preemption in EPCA.
Author Archive | Stephen Del Percio
In Third Parties We Trust? The Growing Antitrust Impact of Third-Party Green Building Certification Systems for State and Local Governments (Abstract)
In Third Parties We Trust? The Growing Antitrust Impact of Third-Party Green Building Certification Systems for State and Local Governments has been published in the University of Oregon’s Journal of Environmental Law and Litigation and builds upon a small – but growing – volume of scholarship in this important area of green building law.
BOMA Objects to Philadelphia City Council’s Green Score Ordinance for Commercial Buildings
Although the City Council is on the verge of approving it, BOMA is objecting to a proposed ordinance that would require Philadelphia commercial buildings larger than 50,000 square feet to publicly disclose energy and water data in a form similar to Energy Star.
House Committee Holds Important Hearing on Science Behind Green Building Rating Systems
The House of Representatives’ Science, Space, and Technology Committee’s Subcommittee on Investigations and Oversight’s recent hearing “The Science Behind Green Building Rating Systems” is perhaps the highest-profile example that changes are on the horizon for federal green building policy.
In Durban, Green Building Council of South Africa Unveils Green Lease Toolkit
On the heels of the Department of Energy creating a similar resource on the other side of the Atlantic, the Green Building Council of South Africa and the South African Property Owners’ Association have unveiled the same tool for the Rainbow Nation.
First Quarter 2012 Green Real Estate Report Now Available
We’re pleased to announce the release of our first quarter 2012 Green Real Estate Report, which reviews a number of key green real estate topics in detail – including legal issues – in order to help industry leaders draw deeper conclusions about the overall state of green real estate.
Belgian REIT Follows French Legislation By Incorporating Environmental Appendix Into Parisian Net Lease
Brussels-listed real estate investment trust Cofinimmo S.A. recently announced the acquisition of an EHPAD nursing home facility in Paris which includes an environment appendix to its lease under new French legislation that applies to the commercial real estate sector.
Going-Going-Green: Strategies for Fostering Sustainable New Federal Buildings: Is Revising the FAR the Key?
An article in the latest issue of the Public Contract Law Journal is particularly timely in light of recent commentary on the Department of Defense’s intention to pursue LEED certification for its projects while simultaneously developing a new, agency-specific building code.
Toronto Real Estate Industry Continues to Lobby Against Green Roof Mandate
Last fall, Toronto’s industrial real estate sector successfully lobbied the City Council for an exception to the city’s Green Roof Bylaw, allowing new industrial properties and building additions to install cool roofing material instead of green roofs. Now, the institutional sector is pushing for the same exception.
Green Lease Library: DOE Launches Resource for Commercial Green Leasing
2012 is proving to be the year that the green lease fully enters the mainstream: the Department of Energy recently released an online Green Lease Library that assembles almost all of the key resources currently available to the industry.
