By paying an average of 2 percent up front on efficient green features, you can save as much as 30 percent to 40 percent on your energy and water bills. And trimming your operating and maintenance costs -- which can account for up to 85 percent of your building's lifetime costs -- pays back any upfront premium in construction expenses in a few years. By saving on operations and maintenance, you can generate increased cash flow and higher margins.

• With the help of a task/ambient lighting strategy and abundant daylighting, NRDC's New York office uses less than 0.4 watts per square foot in lighting-related power, 60 percent below the current baseline usage of 1 watt per square foot for new buildings.



• By recalibrating equipment, introducing new startup and shutdown procedures and making other efficiency improvements, Salt Lake City's Matheson Courthouse reduced its energy costs from $1.08 per square foot to $0.77 per square foot annually.