Economic Benefits
NOTE: the Office of Sustainable Development may not be held liable for the contents of the referenced items nor the omission of documents.
GSA LEED Cost Study
The U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) commissioned this ground breaking study, completed in October 2004, to estimate the costs to develop "green" federal facilities using the U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Building Rating System, Version 2.1. The report provides a detailed and structured review of both the hard cost and soft cost implications of achieving Certified, Silver, and Gold LEED ratings for two GSA building types, using GSA's established design standards as the point of comparison.
USGSA. October, 2004.
The Costs and Financial Benefits of Green Buildings
Dubbed, "the most definitive cost benefit analysis of green building ever conducted", this report demonstrates conclusively that sustainable building is a cost-effective investment. The report confirms that the minimal increases in up-front costs of about 2% would result in life cycle savings of 20% of total construction costs.
Greg Kats, Capital E. October, 2003.
Costing Green: A Comprehensive Cost Database and Budgeting Methodology
A study of the construction costs associated with sustainably designed projects. The study concludes that so-designed projects are being built within initial budgets or with small financial assistance. LEED is used as a benchmark for sustainable design. Davis Langdon, July 2004.
Business Case for Green Design
This article discusses disregarded, yet high impact, variables that should be considered when making the business case for sustainable design. Real costs and opportunity costs, asset value and profits, personnel and building costs and net present value are discussed.
Building Operating Management. Steven Morton, Senior VP and director of HOK Consulting. November, 2002.
Achieving Silver LEED Preliminary Benefit-Cost Analysis for Two City of Seattle Facilities
This 71-page report evaluates the impacts of the City of Seattle's Sustainable Building Policy on two capital projects nearing completion in early 2003. The study includes analysis of the costs and benefits of LEED Silver certification and calculation of life-cycle benefit-cost ratios. Results indicate that 43% of LEED points would have been obtainable without LEED actions.
SBW Consulting
