During today's "Unlocking the Value of High-Performance Tenant Spaces" session, Institute for Market Transformation's Adam Sledd, NRDC's Wendy Fok, Cushman & Wakefield's Eric Duchon and Brandywine Realty Trust's Donald Haas discussed how tenants can select, design, build and occupy space to make a major impact on energy efficiency and ROI. Wendy spoke about NRDC's High Performance Tenant Demonstration Project, which optimizes tenant spaces and was used by Cushman & Wakefield's brand new One WTC office in NYC. "Tenants and landlords need to engage in the process as early as possible to maximize their energy efficiency," Donald tells us.

One of the hottest emerging topics in the business of green building is tenant experience. CBRE's Dave Pogue (here with Dodge Data & Analytics' Donna Laquidara-Carr) says the understanding of the topic is still developing. "We may never get the ultimate 'aha' moment," he says. The Green Building Adoption Index, researched and authored by Nils Kok and CBRE, shows that nearly 40% of all leasable space in the top 30 US markets holds either a LEED certification or Energy Star label. The efforts are aimed primarily at building performance: lower costs, reduced waste, fewer emissions and better material choices.