Quarterly: Summer 2004 - GWCAR - Greater Washington Commercial Association of REALTORS

CBQ >> Summer 2004 Issue

LEED Certification Leads to Better Client Service

By Dietze Construction Group

In today's environmentally conscious marketplace, sustainable building is no longer a future goal, but a present demand. More and more large associations and Fortune 500 companies are beginning to show interest in and require green building practices that fit with their corporate beliefs. Green design is design and construction practices that significantly reduce or eliminate the negative impact of buildings on the environment and occupants.

The United States Green Building Council has established the LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Green Building Rating System to give the commercial real estate and building industries a way to evaluate green building. The voluntary, consensus-based national standard for developing high performance, sustainable buildings offers both professional accreditation and project certification.

To help meet the growing demand from the public and private sectors for green building, construction groups, such as Dietze Construction Group, have begun the process of becoming an accredited LEED professional. A LEED-accredited firm can assist a broker who needs to provide green building standards in an office environment application.

LEED is a tool to help design teams and owners determine green project goals, identify green design strategies, measure & monitor progress and document success. Green design has an economic benefit through improved employee productivity, reduced absenteeism & turnover, reduced liability and increased retail sales.

Dietze Construction Group has completed spaces for tenants who requested such diverse materials as sunflower seed derived gypsum board or the protection of mud daubs harboring hornet nests on a historical roof truss system. The LEED program certification is a natural progression for construction groups to provide the broker (and ultimately the client) with an informed source for green building.

For more information on green building, we invite you to review the United States Green Building Council Web site at www.usgbc.org.