Post-Summit Q&A

Answers to your questions about green building retrofits...

For next year, some local information would be a benefit.  Ie. Stats - how many buildings in Edmonton over 30 years old?  How many have had retrofits completed?

Great idea - we will endeavour to track this information down.

What role do you see Commissioning has in the construction of a building?  How should one ensure that the commissioning is done effectively.

Commissioning plays a critical role in the final stages of construction of a building to ensure all building systems are operating as designed.  If building systems are not set correctly, they will never achieve the energy, water or resource efficiency that they were designed to achieve.  Commissioning will also ensure occupant comfort, as thermostats, lighting controls and ventilation are all tied to a properly commissioned building.  Proper commissioning can be achieved by engaging a commissioning agent to work with the design team from the beginning of a project.

Are there strategies economically viable for single family homes?  If not yet, when will this take place?

Yes- plenty of strategies have been tested on single family homes.  Visit CMHC's website to see their guides to best practices!  http://www.cmhc-schl.gc.ca/en/inpr/

Regarding increasing demand for Net-zero construction:
1 - Where (geologically) do you see this emerging first?

Demand will emerge wherever there is an informed and inspired consumer.  In terms of locations that will see high demand, perhaps it will be based on energy costs.  If electricity, natural gas and other resource costs are high, there will be greater demand for sustainable buildings.

2 - Will there also develop a viable market for net-zero retrofits?

Absolutely! As buildings and their major systems approach the end of their service life, there will be a huge demand for retrofits and considerable upgrading.

Questions from the floor:

One would believe that governments would support the process of green building worldwide.  In your work, have you found obstacles and objections to promotion from governments?  Are municipal governments, as opposed to the provincial or federal governments, more effective to work with?

Leanne Tobias: National governments frequently have resources well beyond those available to municipal or provincial governments and, for this reason, they can be extremely effective sources for market transformation—if they choose to act.  In the U.S., the federal government has been an extremely effective catalyst for the mainstreaming of green building practices, and this has been true under both the governance of both political parties. Many countries in Europe (the UK and Germany, for example) and Asia (among them, China, Singapore, and Taiwan) have also seen the benefits of action at the national level.   From what I have observed in Canada, local and provincial governments have been extremely creative in developing policy approaches that promote green building.  My feeling is that all levels of government have much to contribute on the green building front—it is a matter of marshalling financial and political resources.  Very frequently, municipal and provincial action creates interest at the national level, and action on the federal level can spur additional local activity. Of course, national custom plays a role, too.  There is a higher level comfort with national involvement in building policy in Asia, for example, than in Canada and the U.S., where property issues are typically regulated at the local level.
 
Do you see industrial facilities such as water treatment/wastewater freeland plants, pump stations, warehouses being retrofitted to be more "green?  Do you see similar benefits in retrofitting these industrial buildings?

Leanne Tobias: Yes, there is significant interest and progress in greening industrial space and infrastructure-related facilities,  including wastewater treatment plants and pump stations.  On the industrial front, for example, ProLogis, the international industrial REIT has begun to green its existing facilities and new developments.  ProLogis was the first real estate industry member of the Chicago Climate Exchange, an exchange created to trade voluntary renewable energy credits (RECs).  In the U.S., we also are seeing significant interest in greening wastewater treatment plants and pump stations.  Such infrastructure is most frequently financed through state revolving loan funds, and these funds are beginning to target sustainable operations.  As well, the U.S. economic stimulus provides funding intended to support the development and retrofit of energy-efficient and environmentally sensitive infrastructure.
  With respect to the financial benefits of retrofitting industrial space and infrastructure–related facilities, I think that the operational benefits—measured in terms of operating cost savings—are clear, especially for occupants with longer time horizons, such as utilities and wastewater treatment plants.  With a lengthy timeframe, the financial benefits of reductions in fuel and water costs become apparent in a discounted cash flow analysis.  For industrial tenants under 3 to 5 year lease terms, the financial benefit depends on how cost-effectively the improvements can be executed.  If green improvements can be executed at a cost level approximating conventional—which is more and more the case for moderate levels of green functionality, such as LEED Silver, the resulting savings in fuel and water costs are a win-win for industrial tenants, who are typically very price-sensitive. As well, corporate occupants of bulk distribution space frequently look for image in their leasing—which favors sustainable space.  I recognize that industrial space is frequently not thought of in terms of image or branding, but I have found it to be a factor with corporate tenants in my many years in managing industrial portfolios.

Sales prices, it was mentioned a $1 saving in energy costs equates to 18% in added value, is this per square foot?
Was the market data pre 2009, prior to the financial crisis?

Leanne Tobias: This statistic, drawn from an analysis of U.S. office properties certified under the Environmental Protection Agency’s Energy Star program, was reported by a research team from the University of California at Berkeley and the University of Maastricht.  The analysis was standardized to compare across properties on a per square foot basis.  The analysis was based on late-2008 data—at that time, the financial crisis was well underway—although office prices had not yet bottomed.  It would be interesting if additional studies evaluate whether this relationship holds over 2009 and beyond.
 

Is there information on what does NOT work?  Are there reasons why projects have not been successful?

Leanne Tobias: This is an excellent question and I wish that it was asked and addressed more frequently.  My view is that energy-efficient and environmentally-sensitive building features are generally a positive differentiator in the marketplace, but are not a ‘magic bullet’ that can rescue an otherwise poorly-conceived project.  By this I mean that a commercial real estate project must be functionally-designed, well-located and well-managed to be successful. A poorly-located and poorly-managed green building, for example, will not be well-received in the market.  So developers and property owners must continue to focus on the fundamentals of location and functionality, as well as adding value and tenant appeal through the use of green features.

Second, it is necessary to recognize that sustainable buildings frequently outperform conventional ones, but are not exempt from market cycles.  Don’t expect rents for green or energy-efficient space to trend upward in down markets—although such projects may well experience better occupancy, retention and asking rents than their conventional peers.  Again, green features are positive market differentiators, but can’t exempt developers and owners from market swings.

The most common problem that I’ve seen in the area green development or retrofit is hiring a key vendor who is very new to the green market, especially when green certification is sought. When undertaking a sustainable building project, it is important to hire a design and construction team that has gone through the process before. An experienced team saves time and money during design and construction.  If the requisite experience is not available in the immediate market area, it is often wise to bring in a consulting architect, MEP engineer or general contractor to work with the local team.  In a similar vein,  many subcontractors may have limited experience with green development or retrofit—it is important to recognize this and to prepare the subs up front to work with new green processes and technologies.  In our work with clients, my company, Malachite LLC, helps developers and owners to avoid these pitfalls.

A final problem is the tendency to assume that a newly-completed green project will operate as designed.  In fact, ongoing commissioning, repair and maintenance programs are needed to ensure that newly-installed green equipment continues to function properly.  Commitment to an ongoing green benchmarking, operations and maintenance program is very important.  Again, my team and I work with property owners to help them develop cost-effective, long-term approaches to ensuring that green buildings operate as designed.

Excellent Presentation!  Tempered green excitement with realism!  Would like a copy of the PDF.

Download the presentation as a PDF