Green Building Law Update

The Intersection of Real Estate, Science, and Law

Tag Archives: green building law

From Boilerplate to Benchmarking: The New Era of Climate Smart Leases

By Stuart Kaplow on Posted in Codes and Regulations, Energy, GHG, Green Building, greenhouse gas
It would be convenient if this were only a prospective conversation about the leases you are about to sign. It isn’t. Tens of thousands of existing leases (many with long renewal terms) are for premises that are subject to greenhouse gas disclosure and reduction laws already on the books and now being phased into effect. … Continue Reading

Mold in the John Hanson House: Court Preserves Government Immunity at the Expense of Human Health

By Stuart Kaplow on Posted in Local Government, State
Earlier this month, the Maryland Appellate Court issued a controversial ruling in Candace McCarthy v. Board of Commissioners for Frederick County, Maryland, holding that Frederick County is immune from a negligence claim stemming from mold exposure in the historic John Hanson House. The decision, issued on the same day Maryland’s new mold exposure law took … Continue Reading

States Challenge Validity of New York’s Climate Change Superfund Act

By Stuart Kaplow on Posted in Climate Change, Codes and Regulations, GHG
The recent enactment of the Climate Change Superfund Act in New York has set the stage for a significant legal battle over the scope of state authority to impose financial responsibility for purported climate related damages. The outcome of this litigation could have far reaching effects, influencing not only New York but the entire energy … Continue Reading

Top 10 ESG Blog Posts of 2021

By Stuart Kaplow on Posted in Environmental, ESG
As we look back in this ‘year in review’ at our most read blog posts in 2021, at a time when most of us have accepted that we will never go back to exactly the way things were, we are no doubt collectively ready for a new year. And we are incredibly excited about the … Continue Reading

45L Energy Efficient Home Tax Credit Extended for 2021 by Covid Relief Bill

By Stuart Kaplow on Posted in Energy, Federal, Green Building, Green Globes, IgCC, LEED
The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021, H.R. 133, signed into law by President Trump on December 27th, extended the 45L energy efficient home $2,000 tax credit, which had been scheduled to expire last year, to cover qualified new energy efficient homes sold or leased through 2021. And yes, regular readers of this blog will notice that … Continue Reading

GRESB Purchased from GBCI in advance of ESG Breakout

By Stuart Kaplow on Posted in GRESB, LEED
Last month GRESB announced that its management had purchased the business from its parent GBCI. GRESB was established in 2009 as the Global Real Estate Sustainability Benchmark by three pension funds who wanted to assess and benchmark the Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) and other related performance of real assets, providing standardized data to capital … Continue Reading

GSA Reviews more than 100 Green Building Systems and Selects 5

By Stuart Kaplow on Posted in Federal, Green Globes, LEED
Section 436(h) of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 requires the General Services Administration’s Office of Federal High-Performance Buildings to complete a review of high performance building certification systems every 5 years. After the review, GSA recommends to the Secretary of Energy the building certification systems most likely to encourage a comprehensive approach … Continue Reading

LEED Prerequisite Now Prohibits Smoking Cannabis

By Stuart Kaplow on Posted in LEED
The U.S. Green Building Council issued a LEED Interpretation in 2018 ruling, “smoking of cannabis is considered a form of smoking for the purposes of both the interior and exterior smoking provisions of the LEED Prerequisite Environmental Tobacco Smoke Control.” The LEED prerequisite prohibits smoking outside the building except in designated smoking areas located at … Continue Reading
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