Consultants offer to pay clients’ fees

A company that specializes in LEED-certified building design has come up with a novel way to nurture its client base. 

In a strategy, called “Delivered Performance,” Enermodal Engineering of Kitchener offers to pay the Canada Green Building Council registration fee on behalf of a client whose building achieves LEED Platinum certification. The fees can be around $16,000.

Stephen Carpenter, president of Enermodal, says the Delivered Performance discounts are designed to offset the higher fees that building owners have to pay in order to have a building designed to LEED Platinum standards. Those higher fees are due to the higher levels of innovation and paperwork required for LEED buildings, which can act as a disincentive for building owners to go for LEED Platinum levels of sustainable design.

“It’s an unusual business model,” says Carpenter, “but if we’re serious about getting buildings to operate more efficiently, it is up to LEED industry leaders to eliminate some of the disincentives.”

The company’s second strategy is to offer a 5% package discount when the company provides a full spectrum of services including building commissioning, verification of the building’s performance in energy and water use, and operational support during the first year. Carpenter says that much of the time actual green building performance does not live up to the promises during the design stage, so they want to ensure the energy and other savings are actually achieved.