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REAL ESTATE his organization became aware of this need 18 months ago, he searched on- line for the term "green lease," discov- ered that most of the information came from Australia, and, therefore, decided to visit that country to talk to lawyers and real estate professionals about what this new form of lease would entail. His findings are incorporated in the REAL- Pac green lease, which he in- vites people to "think about and plagiarize." Brooks says real estate rooms, or the use of solar energy co- generating facilities. It's something that every real es- tate lawyer needs to think about, says Hitch. "If they're not paying attention, they need to pay attention, because it is changing the landscape of buildings and it will inevitably change how leases are done." lawyers should be proactive in suggesting that their cli- ents consider environmental standards and targets when negotiating a lease. The prime reason for doing so is that land- lords and tenants can benefit in many ways from having a greener building. Also, even though green building stan- dards are voluntary now, they may be mandated in future, and various other environmental regulations could im- gone from Birkenstocks to Bay Street in five years." — CELIA HITCH, LANG MICHENER LLP pact on properties. Unless green pro- visions are included in a lease, it may prove difficult to implement improve- ments in the future. For example, there may be no mechanism for a landlord and tenant to agree on improved re- cycling, water-saving fixtures in wash- "This whole green thing has But there is a steep learn- ing curve, says Brooks. "Lawyers are going to have to understand the metrics. They're going to have to be conversant with potential specific targets for energy consumption or water con- sumption." And, for ex- ample, they may have to learn about volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and how they contribute to indoor air quality so they can determine what it means if their clients currently have low or high VOCs in their offices. As Hitch puts it, "Lawyers need to understand Untitled-2 1 www. C ANADIAN Law ye rmag.com SEPTEMBER 2008 23 4/7/08 12:23:21 PM