This article is part of the Building a Sustainable Business series about starting and running a sustainable business. Read all the articles here.
Once again, the San Francisco Bay Area LEEDs the way to greener, healthier living, this time in your office. Too many workspaces are sick-making with their sealed windows, release of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) like formaldehyde, low volumes of air return, and wimpy filters. We’ve all experienced this in airplanes and we’ve all heard about sick-building syndrome. But the bad stuff is invisible so it’s hard to know how healthy a building is just by looking at it.
So, when the CEO of a green, socially responsible business needs office space, what should he or she look for and whom should she or he call?
Benjamin Osgood, Vice President of Office Brokerage Services at NAI Kilpatrick has always been an environmentalist concerned about energy use. When he started working in commercial real estate about seven years ago, he saw a way to combine his interests and developed one of the first green leasing strategies in the country. He says, “Renting an office involves a lot more than price per square foot.”
Commercial building owners prefer to deal with professional brokers because they typically know each other and are used to working together. Lease terms are worked out fairly to avoid pitfalls or to include benefits that an innocent entrepreneur doesn’t even know exist. The cost of using a broker is paid by the landlord and is included in the rent so if you choose to go it on your own, you’re still paying for the broker’s service.
During negotiations, the tenant has leverage. Once the papers are signed all those little things you forgot to add are no longer on the table. A good lease will cover every eventuality, like making sure promises are kept. If the landlord says he will un-stick windows painted shut and a year later, they still don’t open, a good lease will either get you a refund or action.
Your building should reflect the persona of the business. If you are a Birkenstock-wearing, bicycle-riding, dog-loving progressive liberal, he can find you a building with showers (yes, you must shower after riding to work), a place to store your bike – and your dog — in a building with open brick work or railroad beams in a neighborhood with like-minded people. Or if you have a super-slick image, he can match you with a high-rise building with glass-enclosed offices on the 40th floor.
Regardless of which office you rent, there are a couple important issues to keep in mind: interior air quality and access to public transportation and good cafes. Buildings with windows that open allowing our clean Pacific blasts to roar though are best for health. Research on sealed environments shows that bad microbes thrive, while the good ones pack their bags and leave. If you choose a high-rise with sealed windows, he will be sure that the building has MERV air filters with high air return ratios to counterbalance the lack of fresh air.
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When BART or Muni are easy to get to and parking is $50 a day, your staff will soon leave the cars at home — as long as there are adequate refueling resources nearby. Benjamin never underestimates the value of the perfect sandwich or cup of coffee. If you need your car to get to your favorite lunch spot, your building is in the wrong location.
Once the lease is signed, Benjamin will help you build the space to fit the needs of your staff and the kind of work you do. A huge open space can be turned into offices, conference rooms, computer labs and reception area — or it can be left open and industrial, with furnishings dividing the space instead of walls. Benjamin makes sure that all the materials used to create your space are safe and green by selecting sustainable materials that don’t emit VOCs.
He recommends that printers, fax, and other equipment be installed in a separate room away from people because laser printers alone emit over 60 percent of pollutants found in offices. He advises on energy conservation and suggests unbundling utilities from the rent. This lowers the monthly cost of the lease and returns up to 20 percent savings with judicious use of lights and equipment.
The cost of building out your office is included in a tenant improvement allowance that is negotiated by your broker. These expenses are fronted by the landlord and then amortized over time. This ensures start-ups can have great offices without huge upfront expenses.
Now that your office space is built, you need to fill it up. Benjamin will help find furniture that is as green as possible. Most new office furniture emits VOCs and it’s expensive. He will help you find used chairs and desks that no longer emit VOCs or direct you to new furniture that is green built.
All the knowledge and advice Benjamin has in his head is in the process of being transmitted to a pdf or ebook that will be posted on the site of the brand new Green Chamber of Commerce. In the meantime, catch one of Benjamin’s Continuing Education sessions at the USGBC or give him a call.
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Priscilla Burgess is CEO, Co-founder, and Co-inventor of Bellwether Materials, an award-winning, triple-bottom line company that manufactures deep green building insulation made from an agricultural by-product. Before founding Bellwether Materials, she ran her own management consulting business. She has traveled all over the world, asking questions about how people work and from that, has developed several models and many opinions about the best way to grow a flourishing business.
image: strawbleu via flickr cc (some rights reserved)