I'm going to take a departure from the usual informative nature of my E-Alerts and toot my own horn in this edition! Last year I discovered that my daughters were really happy and proud of me for instituting recycling and energy savings practices at home and at my office. And it felt really good. But why stop there? I wanted to get involved in energy efficiency and environmental design in commercial real estate - for my clients and for properties in which I am an owner. So I've joined a select group of attorneys nationwide who have recognized the significance of "green" building trends on the future of the building industry and have responded by getting certified. I'm the 37th attny in the State of California to get this specific credential and the 138th in the state to get a Leadership in Environment and Energy Design ("LEED") credential. My next goal is to become adept at drafting and negotiating "Green Leases" and to develop a niche representing landlords and tenants in retail, office and industrial buildings where a LEED new construction, renovation or tenant build out is involved.

What's a Green Lease? Much like the term "green building," "green lease" is a term without a widely accepted definition. A green lease can take many forms. However, the key concepts in any green lease are: (i) rent structure and operating expenses that address sharing of expenses specific to LEED buildings; (ii) build out of tenant improvements in accordance with LEED; (iii) sustainable development principles and regulations (throughout the building or larger development); (iv) the use and disposal of hazardous materials, including cleaning supplies; (v) recycling; and (vi) environmental management plans. A green lease will generally detail environmentally friendly products to be used, water and energy conservation methods and targets, the use of alternative sources of energy on-site, such as solar or wind, indoor air quality standards, and dispute resolution procedures. The two most prominent green leasing standards currently available are promulgated by the United States Green Building Council ("USGBC") and the Building Owners and Managers Association International ("BOMA"). USGBC's LEED program utilizes widely accepted standards in the green building movement to certify tenant spaces through its Commercial Interiors certification process. This process is able to provide all parties with a framework and a third party classification following the construction of the tenant space. Many tenants, such as Wells Fargo, Subway, McDonalds, Kohls and Best Buy are now requiring certain levels of LEED certification as it provides a clear and industry wide accepted benchmark as to the company's commitment to going green.