S.F., L.A. Top Green Commercial Building Lists

SAN FRANCISCO — In a listing of top U.S. cities for green commercial development and commercial energy saving initiatives, San Francisco ranked highest as having the best green office market conditions, according to the first-ever Green Building Opportunity Index.
 
In a second study of the efficiency of some of the nation’s greenest commercial buildings, produced by the EPA, San Francisco ranked third, dropping one spot from last year’s report.

The Green Building Opportunity Index, produced by the Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance’s BetterBricks and Cushman & Wakefield, compares retrofitting, leasing, and sales of investment-grade green office buildings in the 25 largest U.S. Central Business Districts.

 
Focusing on six categories — office market conditions, investment outlook, green adoption and implementation, local mandates and incentives, state energy incentives, and green culture — the index ranked San Francisco first based on the city’s favorable energy policies and strong forecasted growth. Listed behind San Francisco are Oakland, Calif., midtown New York and Los Angeles.
 
The Index marries classic real estate indicators, such as vacancy rates and forecasted rental growth, with soft indicators that surround the green building industry, including LEED certified spaces, green building laws and ordinances and cultural attitudes.

“This is the first study that meshes real estate market data with green building policy, incentive and cultural data,” Davis says.

 
City policymakers, utility staff and planners can use the information to determine what new polices and incentives might accelerate green building activity, while building owners, architects and green building consultants can determine where green development brings competitive advantages.

“We found it remarkable that a city’s ranking was very sensitive to policy movements during the time period we were working on this report,” Davis says. “There is a great deal of intense interest in green building, and with a region such as New York City passing legislation at the end of the year requiring benchmarking and energy audits in buildings over a certain size, we noticed a domino effect in terms of green building activity.”

San Francisco ranked fairly well in every category, which is why it tops the list, Davis says.

“San Francisco has a healthy office market, rents are doing well, and there aren’t a lot of vacancies,” he says.

While San Francisco topped the list overall, other cities ranked first in office market conditions (Minneapolis), green adoption and implementation (Chicago), sustainable building mandates and incentives (midtown New York), and regional green culture and practices (downtown New York).
 
In comparison, San Francisco slipped from second to third on the EPA’s listing of top cities with Energy Star-rated buildings, which came out in late March. Los Angeles topped the EPA’s second annual list, which takes into account nearly 3,900 commercial buildings nationwide labeled with the Energy Star logo in 2009.
 
Los Angeles had 293 Energy Star buildings, saving an estimated $93.9 million in energy costs, according to the EPA. Washington ranked second with 204 Energy Star-certified buildings and San Francisco had 173 Energy Star buildings.
EPA awards an Energy Star certification to commercial buildings —hospitals, office buildings, retail stores, and supermarkets — that perform in the top 25 percent of buildings nationwide compared to similar structures. The EPA estimates that energy use in commercial structures accounts for 17 percent of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions, costing over $100 billion per year.
 
Since the EPA awarded the first Energy Star certification to a building in 1999, nearly 9,000 buildings across the country have earned the designation by 2009. Within the last year alone, the EPA has seen a more than 40 percent growth in numbers, while overall annual utility savings have risen to nearly $1.6 billion.
 
The EPA estimates that emissions levels equal to more than 1 million homes a year have been prevented through the program.