The Costs and Benefits of Achieving Silver LEED For Two Seattle Municipal Buildings

Bing Tso and Marc Schuldt, SBW Consulting, Inc.
Jun Quan, Seattle Fleets & Facilities Department

Keywords

Abstract

The City of Seattle’s Sustainable Building Policy requires new City facilities to achieve LEED™ silver ratings. City policy makers commissioned a preliminary evaluation of the costeffectiveness of this policy for the first two buildings completed. The resultant life cycle cost analysis quantified costs and benefits for the projected LEED credits. It considered direct benefits, such as utility cost reductions, as well as indirect benefits, such as productivity gains, from LEED-influenced actions. Key data came from design teams and city project managers, as well as relevant literature. This study found that LEED substantially influenced building designs, thereby increasing first costs slightly, but also providing significant benefits over time, mainly in reduced energy use and improved productivity. City investments in LEED certification for these two buildings proved cost-effective, although this finding depends a great deal on the future effects of commissioning, measurement and verification, and measure persistence.