6/10/14

By Paul L. Jones, Founder,
Director, Financial Advisory Services for Emerald Skyline Corporation

Adam Smith, author of The Wealth of Nations, gave definition and meaning to the economics and laid out the foundation for the economic system on which the U.S. was based. As noted in the introduction to the Condensed Wealth of Nations published by the Adam Smith Research Trust, “It took the outdated, received wisdom about trade, commerce, and public policy, and re-stated them according to completely new principles that we still use fruitfully today.” (http://www.adamsmith.org/sites/default/files/resources/condensed-WoN.pdf)

The economic system we have come to know as capitalism facilitates a free market economy built on the concept that both sides benefit from trade and that the market had an “automatic mechanism that allocated resources with great efficiency” which we know as the Invisible Hand. According to Smith,

“Every individual… neither intends to promote the public interest, nor knows how much he is promoting it… he intends only his own security; and by directing that industry in such a manner as its produce may be of the greatest value, he intends only his own gain, and he is in this, as in many other cases, led by an invisible hand to promote an end which was no part of his intention.” The Wealth of Nations, Book IV, Chapter II, p. 456.

It is the invisible hand on which we continue to rely as we count on the developers, owners, managers and tenants of commercial real estate to act in their own best interests – which, undoubtedly, is to improve operating cash flow and maximize the value of their properties.

In my first two posts, I highlighted some of the economic benefits to eradicating functional obsolescence in an existing building and avoiding it in a new building.   The studies that have been performed all indicate that a sustainable retrofit puts money into the pockets of all of the stakeholders in a property.   Now, here are some more statistics that hopefully get your attention (as reported by Rob Roth, , Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer, EnergyActio, in the recently released “2014 INSIDER Knowledge” published by Environmental Leader (www.environmentalleader.com) :

“In the United States, the average commercial building wastes approximately 30% of the energy that owners and tenants pay for. On an annual basis, energy waste costs owners and tenants more than $60 billion which is equivalent to:

• $60 billion in lost business profits
• $857 billion in lost capitalized asset value (at a 7.0% cap rate)
• Funding for 1.3 million jobs (at the 2013 average wage of $45,790).”

In an article posted by NREI/Green Real Estate Strategies yesterday (6/9/2014), John Bonnell and Jackie Hines of Jones Lange LaSalle in Phoenix, report that “LEED-certified buildings can capture a premium of 29 percent over buildings without this distinction.” They further report that “It appears that a green building is no longer a luxury, but a requirement here to stay.”

As more owners, investors, managers and tenants pursue the Sustainable Benefits to be derived from remediating functional obsolescence through a sustainable retrofit, the invisible hand will enable us to achieve the societal goals of reducing our carbon footprint, minimizing our contribution to climate change and extending the life of our natural resources.

Remember, reuse, reduce and recycle.

Be well and be blessed, Paul