Green Lease Best Practices for Energy-Efficient Commercial Buildings

At Thrive Electrify, we help asset owners, property managers, and tenants turn commercial buildings into high-performance, energy-efficient spaces. By using green lease strategies, you can lower operating costs, improve building performance, and move closer to net-zero goals.

Based on the Institute for Market Transformation’s Green Lease Language Examples (2020), this blog outlines practical, high-impact strategies across energy management, monitoring, lighting, data sharing, EV charging, and solar—plus how Thrive Electrify supports implementation every step of the way.

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Energy Management Best Practices  

Smart energy management ensures buildings operate efficiently and cost-effectively. Landlords and tenants can collaborate more effectively by adopting these practices:

• Set Electrical Load Limits: Limit plug load equipment to 1.5–3.5 watts per usable square foot to optimize building-wide energy use.
• Communicate Operational Needs Early: Tenants should coordinate with landlords and their contractors to plan infrastructure and avoid oversizing systems.
• Incentivize Efficiency: Consider charging for unused electrical capacity or rebalancing allocations annually to encourage right-sizing.

Thrive Electrify’s Role:
We help you access BC Hydro’s fully funded integrated energy audits and install tools to track and manage energy use more effectively.

Monitoring Energy Use  

Monitoring energy consumption is key to identifying savings opportunities. Green leases promote transparency, and Thrive Tracking energy consumption is essential for identifying waste and unlocking savings. Green leases can formalize this process:

• Establish Usage Benchmarks: For instance, use 6 watts per square foot as a baseline for commercial offices to guide electrical design.
• Install Submetering: Track tenant-level consumption for accurate, dispute-free billing based on actual usage—often with no markup.
• Use Smart Controls: Implement advanced lighting controls or full energy management systems to collect real-time usage data.
• Schedule Annual Reviews: Align electrical capacity with actual demand yearly to prevent unnecessary overprovisioning.

Data Sharing for Transparency

Transparent energy data sharing fosters collaboration, builds trust between landlords and tenants, and drives continuous Transparent energy data sharing builds trust and fosters accountability. Green lease clauses can support collaboration while protecting privacy:

• Require Regular Data Exchanges: Share energy data monthly, quarterly, or annually to support shared efficiency goals.
• Protect Confidentiality: Limit the use of shared data to performance tracking—not for lease negotiations.
• Include Annual Energy Reports: Report energy use and EUI (Energy Use Intensity) in kBtu/sf/yr to benchmark performance.
• Enable ENERGY STAR Access: Allow shared read-only access to Portfolio Manager accounts for consistent tracking.

Lighting Efficiency

Lighting remains one of the largest energy consumers in commercial buildings. Green lease clauses can significantly reduce Lighting upgrades are one of the most cost-effective ways to cut energy use while improving comfort and productivity. Green lease provisions may include:

• Install Daylight Dimming: Require daylight-responsive controls within 15 feet of perimeter windows.
• Use Vacancy Sensors: Ensure at least 75% of lighting loads are controlled by vacancy or occupancy sensors.
• Provide LED Task Lighting: Encourage individual LED task lighting to reduce ambient lighting needs.
• Meet ASHRAE 90.1-2016: Keep lighting power density below 0.79 watts per square foot for offices.
• Improve Tenant Fit-Outs: Mandate that lighting in tenant improvements exceeds code by at least 10%.

Our Expertise:
Thrive Electrify designs and installs high-performance LED systems that meet code, reduce energy use, and enhance tenant satisfaction.

EV Charging Infrastructure

As electric vehicle adoption accelerates, green leases can include EV charging provisions to support sustainability goals, attract With EV adoption growing, including EV charging provisions in green leases helps future-proof properties and attract sustainability-minded tenants.

• Install Charging Stations: Specify a baseline number of Level 2 or DCFC stations based on site needs.
• Define Access and Billing: Outline access rules (shared, reserved, or public) and billing models like passthrough utility rates or user fees.
• Track Charging Use Separately: Submeter EV energy use or integrate it into existing energy dashboards.
• Include Maintenance Clauses: Define responsibility for maintenance, software, and future expansion.

End-to-End Support from Thrive Electrify:
We offer full-service EV solutions—from grant applications and design to installation, billing platforms, and remote system management.

Solar & Battery Storage

Onsite renewable energy generation and storage support long-term sustainability goals, enhance building resilience, and Onsite solar and battery storage reduce operating costs, improve resilience, and support long-term sustainability goals. Green lease terms can pave the way:

• Enable Rooftop Solar: Allow landlords or tenants to install PV systems with access and maintenance rights clearly defined.
• Share Energy Savings: Establish frameworks to split benefits like bill savings or power purchase credits.
• Allow Battery Storage: Encourage installation to reduce demand charges and support solar self-consumption.
• Report Generation & Emissions: Include clauses requiring annual reporting of kWh produced and emissions avoided.
• Pursue Incentives & Certifications: Support applications for NRCan or provincial funding and credit towards LEED, BOMA BEST, or ESG targets.

How We Help:
Thrive Electrify delivers turnkey solar and battery solutions—from feasibility studies and permitting to system tracking and grant applications.

Why Thrive?

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