The fundamental purpose of office buildings is to provide a productive and effective place for people to work. In recognising this, the Department of Environment and Conservation NSW (DEC), partnered with Investa Property group, City of Sydney, City of Melbourne and the Institute for Sustainable Futures to develop a Green Lease Guide for commercial office tenants.

A 'green lease' is an agreement between building owner and tenant to work together to protect the environment. It is struck by adding "green" provisions into a standard leasing agreement.

"We don't have the luxury of starting many new buildings from scratch. A green lease recognises the immediate things owners and tenants can do, in their existing building, to make a difference to the environment ...Green leases not only protect our environment but they make good business sense - they improve employee well-being, increase profitability and help attract talented staff."     Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore MP said.

This guide provides tenants with an opportunity to identify and commit to objectives that will:

• save tenants money
• provide an excellent working environment for employees
• enhance an organisation's reputation through reduced environmental impact

Investa Property group, who produced the Green Lease Guide for commercial office tenants, includes green lease provisions in all base leasing agreements. The vast majority of Investa's 17 Sydney CBD buildings are covered by green lease provisions.

"Over the past two years alone, Investa has reduced water consumption in our commercial office buildings by 28 per cent through a number of new initiatives"     General Manager, Sustainability, Safety & Environment for Investa, Craig Roussac said.

The guide explains what a green lease is, what to look for when choosing a building and outlines what to consider when designing an office fit out plus provides valuable tips on choosing equipment and sources of further information.

The DEC, through its Business Partnerships unit, works with companies to evaluate their current environmental performance and provides expertise, training and tools required for each business to develop environmental projects that will deliver the best results for their company.

To download the Guide visit the Livingthing website.

[Article revised 15 January 2007 with updated PDF]

>> More info - livingthing.net.au