Better Buildings Partnership launches radical new Green Lease Toolkit

The Better Buildings Partnership has launched a radically updated version of its popular Green Lease Toolkit, providing suggested lease drafting aimed at stimulating leadership on sustainability, fostering collaboration and supporting the delivery of better buildings across the commercial real estate sector. The comprehensive online toolkit contains example legal clauses across nearly 20 key areas, covering topics such as building management, circular economy, waste and renewable energy, and the BBP has taken what it describes as a “dynamic approach” with suggested drafting variations categorised as “light”, “medium” or “dark”, in order to accommodate users at various stages of their green leasing journey. Additionally, the toolkit introduces a new Green Lease Essentials section, outlining a vision for 10 minimum expectations on what green leases should include. It is intended to cater to a diverse audience, including property owners, occupiers, letting agents, lawyers, managing agents, investors and analysts, with the BBP’s stated objective being to “identify actions of mutual value, and foster greater alignment and co-operation to improve the sustainability of commercial buildings”. Sarah Ratcliffe (pictured), chief executive of the Better Buildings Partnership, said that the revised toolkit – first introduced in 2008, and last updated in 2013 – has been a “labour of love” that has involved widespread collaboration with an array of stakeholders including leading law firms, surveyors and landowners. As well as ensuring that the toolkit has been brought up to date with relevant legislation and regulation, not least the energy performance certificate requirements imposed by the Minimum Energy Efficiency Standard, Ratcliffe emphasised that it was important to reflect the change in the increasingly collaborative owner/occupier relationship over the last decade and to facilitate alignment of the respective green ambitions and expectations of owners and occupiers. Ratcliffe added: “Our Green Lease Toolkit has been one of the BBP’s most widely utilised tools, helping to inform leading thinking on how leases can support owners’ and occupiers’ sustainability ambitions. We’ve seen the industry move in the direction that owners and occupiers realise they can only improve the performance of the building if they engage with one another and the lease is an important part of providing the right foundations for that. We hope that this significant review of the toolkit will enable the whole industry to realise the potential for positive and open dialogue, ultimately driving the delivery of better buildings.” The BBP’s head of sustainability for occupier engagement, Laura Noctor-King, stressed that cooperation is so fundamental that it has been included as one of the 10 minimum expectations: “That sets the tone really for the rest of how you approach the lease. Collaboration and cooperation are absolutely key, which is why we have embedded them in the toolkit itself as a priority area. Having collaborative conversations up front ensures that opportunities are not missed.” Siobhan Cross, partner in the property group at Pinsent Masons and one of the main editors of the legal working group that worked on the toolkit added: “With tenants’ and landlords’ interests increasingly aligned when it comes to reducing carbon emissions and with this decade being critical for significant emissions reductions, this update is timely. It is balanced and will be an important tool as tenants and landlords work together to shift the dial on the environmental performance of leased buildings.” Kirsty Draper, head of sustainability for UK agency at JLL was part of the team that helped develop the toolkit, and welcomed its launch as “an exciting key industry tool”. Draper added: “We all know the industry needs radical collaboration to deliver on sustainability. The toolkit encourages and helps provide a framework for that owner/occupier collaboration.” Ed Green, sustainability director at Grosvenor described the toolkit as “the perfect springboard for property owners and occupiers wanting to take the next step in their sustainability journey”, adding: “In simple terms it explains how we can work together to transform the built environment, while recognising that different organisations are in different stages of their journey. With over 220 of our occupiers on a green lease, we know this is a highly effective mechanism to support collaboration and progress.” Jane Wakiwaka, London and regional sustainability director at the Crown Estate and chair of the Green Lease Toolkit steering committee, said: “The launch of the updated toolkit today demonstrates the importance and value of owners and occupiers working together to deliver sustainable outcomes for the real estate sector.” Now available on the BBP’s website, the toolkit can, it says, be easily adapted and continuously evolved to reflect best practice and learnings, including case studies. The BBP invites industry professionals to explore the toolkit and to share feedback on their experience: Green Lease Toolkit To send feedback, e-mail jess.harrold@eg.co.uk or tweet @EGPropertyNews