How important is reducing your carbon footprint when you are searching for new office space?  This question does not come up with all clients that are looking for space, but I would say that most care.  Being that they care doesn’t mean they would like to spend more for it; they would be most interested when their green efforts could also reduce the cost to run the building. For example, lower HVAC costs result from better insulation and more efficient building systems.

What is LEED? LEED, or Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design, is transforming the way we think about how our buildings and communities are designed, constructed, maintained and operated across the globe. Comprehensive and flexible, LEED is a green building tool that addresses the entire building lifecycle recognizing best-in-class building strategies.

Landlords use LEED Certification to differentiate themselves amongst their peers. Some claim to be the first LEED Gold certification while others claim the most improved say from Silver to Platinum. Massachusetts currently ranks 4th amongst all states with 106 projects certified in 2012 or 13,395,597 square feet.

Boston.com recently noted Grant Thornton’s green considerations in its relocation to the Financial District, “Another benefit of the new office: It is designed to help reduce the firm’s carbon footprint…All workspaces have access to natural light as well as to modern conference and team rooms.”