DOC Earns Prestigious Green Lease Leaders Gold Designation
June 8, 2020
Physicians Realty Trust (NYSE: DOC) is proud to announce we have earned the Green Lease Leaders Gold Designation from the Institute for Market Transformation (IMT) for our work in incorporating green lease language throughout our portfolio.
Green leases, sometimes referred to as “high-performance” or “energy-aligned” leases, create win-win strategies for building owners and tenants by aligning the costs and benefits of sustainability investments for both parties. To receive this prestigious recognition, DOC met prerequisites and demonstrated industry best practices. Criteria included utility data tracking and sharing, cost recovery for efficiency-related capital improvements, sustainability training, and more.
IMT, in partnership with the U.S. Department of Energy’s Better Buildings Alliance, is engaged in critical work to formalize the green leasing process by setting national standards for what a green lease should include. Their Green Lease Leaders program also recognizes landlords and tenants who modernize their leases to spur collaborative action on energy efficiency, cost-savings, air quality, and sustainability in buildings.
Despite this growing trend towards green leasing, there remains enormous potential for growth in the space. IMT estimates that green leases can help reduce utility bills by up to about 50 cents per square foot (22 percent) in U.S. office buildings alone. If all leased office buildings executed green leases, the market could reap over $3 billion in annual cost savings.
As part of DOC’s commitment to Invest in Better®, the company has committed to a variety of Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) goals. We will soon release our inaugural ESG Report, summarizing the organization’s commitment to sustainability, goals, and achievements.
While green leases are just one part of the organization’s overall ESG strategy, today’s Green Lease Leaders announcement serves as a testament to how DOC’s investment in ESG is also an investment in our tenants, communities, and the global environment as a whole.