WEINGARTEN REALTY JOINS BROKERS AND COMPANIES IN RECEIVING TOP HONORS FOR USING THE LEASE TO SLASH ENERGY AND WATER — USE IN ITS BUILDINGS.

Weingarten Realty was named a 2015 Green Lease Leader at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Better Buildings Summit in Washington, DC. The recognition was established by the Institute for Market Transformation (IMT) and the DOE Better Buildings Alliance to recognize property owners, tenants, and brokers who are effectively using the lease to drive energy and water savings in commercial buildings—offering substantial business and environmental benefits.

Green Lease Leaders signed leases representing 415 million square feet this year, with the cumulated square footage now totaling 800 million square feet.

A green lease encourages collaboration to take action to improve efficiency, saving tenants and building owners on average, 10-20 percent each month on a building’s energy and water bills. A study released by IMT  showed that green leases could deliver nearly $3 billion in annual savings for the U.S. office sector alone.

“Because of this recognition program, brokers, landlords, and tenants now have a blueprint for writing leases that remove impediments to efficiency and align interests so landlords and tenants both benefit from improving building performance. IMT and the Better Buildings Alliance are proud to see that many of today’s Green Lease Leaders are using the lease transaction to lay the foundation for working together to boost sustainability on a major scale,” said Cliff Majersik, Executive Director for IMT.

Historically, real estate owners and tenants have had difficulty integrating sustainability into the lease process due to tension between owners and tenants over responsibilities and cost-sharing arrangements. The Green Lease Leaders program is helping to shine a light on replicable solutions that can be employed by others to get past this split incentive.

“Today I’m pleased to announce the continued success of the Green Lease Leaders program,” said Dr. Kathleen Hogan, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency at DOE, during a presentation at the Better Buildings Summit. “This effort is showing that cooperation on energy efficiency is no longer just a niche practice.”

Weingarten Realty is committed to the role as a corporate partner to the environment and the communities served, while constantly seeking ideas and innovations that further improve the environmental performance of the national portfolio. Weingarten has strategically singled out areas of operational focus that will benefit from our environment sustainability efforts which include energy management, recycling, alternative transportation, and water management. More information about Weingarten Realty’s sustainability efforts can be view at weingarten.com/About/GreenForward.

For more information on the Green Lease Leaders program, visit greenleaseleaders.com, and to learn more about the benefits of green leases, visit the Green Lease Library at greenleaselibrary.com.