Building Management Group
Statement of Intent
The Lease contains provision for the parties to communicate on adequacy of data sharing re the Environmental Performance, travel plans [and Social Impact] and for discussion on environmental sustainability [and Social Impact] issues.
Preamble
To run the Building in a sustainable way, communication between the parties is critical and must occur as often as reasonably necessary between the appropriate members of the Landlord’s staff (or Managing Agent) and the Tenant’s staff. A Building Management Group (BMG) can be a useful forum and discipline for such communication. The BMG may deal only with green issues (a Green Building Management Group). Alternatively, it may be more convenient and effective for green issues to be one of the items discussed at a general Building Management Group which has a wider remit.
Where the parties are effectively communicating on environmental matters by more informal means, it may not be necessary to have regular meetings of a BMG. The drafting of this clause permits such informal contact methods as the cost and administrative burden of running a BMG when few people actually attend can be prohibitive and a barrier to communication.
Even if the contact method will be informal, it is still useful to have such a clause to impose an obligation on un-cooperative parties at least to be available for discussion in the hope that this may lead to further engagement and progress.
The light green version of this clause provides an informal method for the parties to communicate on environmental and social matters.
The medium green version of this clause provides, at the Landlord’s option, for a more formal communications body, a forum, but this is not a requirement. The drafting includes an obligation on the Landlord and Tenant to use reasonable endeavours to ensure that their representative attends.
The dark green version of this clause requires the Landlord to establish a forum with more specific procedural requirements and more targeted discussions in relation to emissions reduction and other environmental or social targets.
Gearing up for your Green Lease Journey
Light Green Clause:
Accelerating your Green Lease Journey
Medium Green Clause:
Driving Transformation with your Green Lease Journey
Dark Green Clause:
Suggested drafting
Light Green Clause
The Landlord and the Tenant agree in good faith to engage as often as is reasonably required (and in any event at least once a year) to ensure that there is effective communication between them in relation to:
- a) considering the adequacy and improvement of data sharing on the Environmental Performance of the Premises [and the Building];
- b) reviewing and agreeing targets and strategies to Improve the Environmental Performance of the Premises [and the Building];
- c) agreeing targets and strategies for a Travel Plan; and
- d) [discussing and agreeing strategies to improve the Social Impact of the Premises [and the Building]].
Communication may include establishing a Forum or equivalent mechanism (with other interested parties, if applicable) that provides an appropriate means of dialogue and exchange of views, whether by meeting in person or not, to which all parties with an interest in or involvement with the Building can be invited.
Where any of the issues to be considered or reviewed or agreed in the forum relate exclusively to the Premises, either the Landlord or the Tenant may request that these are discussed between them and their authorised agents only and not with other permitted participants in the forum.
Drafting note
If the forum needs to be limited to energy water and Waste this will need to replace the reference to Environmental Performance.
This is less onerous than the establishment of the environmental forum in paragraph 2 of the Sustainability schedule (Schedule 7) of the MCL. If the light green version of this clause is used it will need to replace paragraph 2 of that schedule.
Medium Green Clause
The Landlord may establish a forum for all parties with an interest in or involvement with the Building (the “Forum”) that will meet on a regular basis to:
- a) consider the adequacy and improvement of data sharing on the Environmental Performance of the Lettable Units including the Premises [and the Building];
- b) review and agree targets and strategies to improve the Environmental Performance of the Lettable Units including the Premises [and the Building];
- c) agree targets and strategies for a Travel Plan; and
- d) [discuss and agree strategies to Improve the Social Impact of the Lettable Units including the Premises [and the Building].
The Forum may take any form that affords an appropriate means of communication and exchange of views, whether by meeting in person or otherwise.
The Landlord and the Tenant will each nominate a suitable person to participate on its behalf in the Forum. They will use reasonable endeavours to ensure that their nominee attends and participates in any Forum meetings or discussions of which appropriate advance notice has been given.
[The Landlord and the Tenant may agree to allow third parties to participate in the Forum for a specified period or for a specified purpose.]
[The Landlord will use reasonable endeavours to ensure that a representative of any managing agents appointed by the Landlord attends and participates in any Forum meetings or discussions of which appropriate advance notice has been given.]
Where any of the issues to be considered or reviewed or agreed in the Forum relate exclusively to the Premises, either the Landlord or the Tenant may request that these are discussed between them and their authorised agents only (and not with any other permitted participants in the Forum).
If no Forum is established, the Landlord and the Tenant will promote equivalent mechanisms that provide an appropriate means of dialogue and exchange of views on the Environmental Performance [and Social Impact] of the Premises [and the Building], whether by meeting in person or not, to which all parties with an interest in or involvement with the Building can be invited.
Drafting note
The medium green version of this clause mirrors the wording in paragraph 2 of the Sustainability schedule (Schedule 7) of the MCL but extended to cover all Environmental Performance data and noting the wider definition of Environmental Performance in this toolkit and the additional final paragraph. Also note the word “try” has been replaced with “reasonable endeavours”.
Dark Green Clause
The Landlord must establish a forum for all parties with an interest in or involvement with the Building (the “Forum”) to:
- a) consider the adequacy and improvement of data sharing on the Environmental Performance of the Lettable Units including the Premises [and the Building];
- b) review and agree targets and strategies to Improve the Environmental Performance of the Lettable Units including the Premises [and the Building] with a view to achieving at least a [X] % reduction of Greenhouse Gas Emissions year on year from the Premises [and the Building];
- c) agree targets and strategies for a Travel Plan; and
- d) [discuss and agree strategies to improve the Social Impact of the Lettable Units including the Premises [and the Building].
The Forum may take any form that affords an appropriate means of communication and exchange of views, whether by meeting in person or otherwise.
The Forum will meet at least once a quarter and appropriate advance notice of each meeting must be provided by the Landlord, and the Landlord and the Tenant must each nominate a suitable person to participate on its behalf at the Forum and must ensure that its nominee attends or participates in any Forum meetings or discussions.
[The Landlord and the Tenant may agree to allow third parties to participate in the Forum for a specified period or for a specified purpose.]
[The Landlord will use reasonable endeavours to ensure that a representative of any managing agents appointed by the Landlord attends and participates in any Forum meetings or discussions of which appropriate advance notice has been given.]
Where any of the issues to be considered or reviewed or agreed in the Forum relate exclusively to the Premises, either the Landlord or the Tenant may request that these are discussed between them and their authorised agents only (and not with any other permitted participants in the Forum).
The Landlord and the Tenant will encourage other appropriate means of dialogue and exchange of views on the Environmental Performance and Social Impact of the Premises [and the Building], whether by meeting in person or not, to which all parties with an interest in or involvement with the Premises [and the Building] can be invited.
Drafting note
As with the cooperation clause the intention of this clause is to ensure that the parties engage with each other and so it deliberately avoids any element of compulsion requiring the parties to implement anything which is agreed. This does not prevent them from agreeing to implement any decisions which are made where decisions cover matters such as who will carry out the works and how the costs will be dealt with. Best practice will be to document this agreement in a legally binding document.
To provide focus for the Forum additional drafting could be included requiring an annual statement to be produced which contains: a summary of energy and water use and Waste generated by the Premises (and where relevant the Building); details of the agreed targets and strategies; a summary of the progress made towards achieving the targets agreed for the previous year and identifying any other achievements (e.g reduction in fossil fuel consumption). If such drafting is included responsibility for the production of that statement should be allocated and if appropriate costs covered in any service charge.
The parties can agree any reduction target and this may be dependent on factors such as the length of the lease and the nature of and level of emissions from the relevant building. In ‘The Carbon Law’ in Exponential Roadmap Initiative’s The 1.5°C Business Playbook, p.5; and J. Rockström et al., A roadmap for rapid decarbonisation, Science 355.6331, pp.1269-1271 (2017) a figure of 7% per annum is suggested. Other specific targets in relation to ESG matters such as Waste production, biodiversity, water use and Social Impact could be included in the above clause but is likely to require technical input.
The dark green version of this clause would be used in place of paragraph 2 of the Sustainability schedule (Schedule 7) of the MCL.