Duncan Plaza features an extensive recycling program.

As green building standards become increasingly important for tenants and landlords alike, many progressive companies are now looking to ensure the ongoing building operations are also handled responsibly.

But there is no simple way to design such a “green lease,” experts say. Although the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) standards are widely used throughout the industry, the group focuses primarily on design and construction. Energy use, water efficiency, chemical use or other vital aspects of green operation are another story.

Many in the building industry are now working on such green lease provisions, but the effort has left many scratching their heads, wondering how to write a lease that ensures healthy, sustainable operations.

“In the commercial leasing context, it’s hard to say how to structure a lease to encourage a tenant to behave in ways that are aligned with how the building is designed,” says Ralph DiNola, Principal with Green Building Services, a consulting firm with offices in Portland. DiNola says developers and landlords often make sustainable design a major component of the marketing strategy for new construction. However, tenants that fail to engage on energy efficiency, green maintenance and other measures can negate those efforts.

According to Karen Penafiel, vice president of advocacy for the Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA), tenant cooperation is a key aspect of green building that the industry hasn't comprehensively addressed.

“One of the hardest things about going green is user behavior,” Penafiel says. “You can upgrade all your systems and achieve a lot of energy efficiency that way, but if the tenants use more and more energy, you’re not really doing anything on the conservation side.”