![Green Renter Score]( "Green Renter Score") There are scoring systems for real estate and renting to let consumers measure comparative value when they are looking for a place to live. Now, there is a website called GreenRenter which helps find green rental properties and also rates them according to how eco-friendly they really are.
When GreenRenter was launched almost a year ago the company didn’t include building ratings according to the degree of sustainability. The reasoning was that there were plenty of other people out there doing that, namely the US Green Building Council and their LEED rating system.
However, much of the early feedback received from bloggers suggested that renters needed an easy way to compare the properties that they were interested in. While they still believe it isn’t easy comparing buildings that are completely different, they believe that they found a simple and relatively painless scoring system that has benefits for everyone.
Every residential building on GreenRenter now has a 1 to 5 score, the higher the score, the greener the building. The score is based on the building's green features, with weight given to innovativeness and breadth. You can also filter by score, using the filters on the right side of the list pages. There will be green scoring for commercial properties too as a soon to be added feature.
The scoring, according to their website, is as follows:
“5 - Wow - this building is OTT (over the top)! It's one of the greenest buildings on GreenRenter and has likely won awards in its region. If it hasn't, it should.
4 - A score to be proud of! This building is comprehensive in its approach to sustainability.
3 - Yes! This one's way greener than a conventional building and a good effort by the owner and management team. They've implemented several green features and probably see great potential for more.
2 - Caution - greening in progress! This owner's taken the plunge so check back - there's probably more green upgrades on the way.
1 - Just getting started! This building's few green features got it listed but there's lots more to do.”
The GreenRenter score is not a third-party certification program like the USGBC's LEED Rating System. GreenRenter is very inclusive when it comes to "greenness." The idea is to show the efforts of all owners who are trying to improve the sustainability of their properties, regardless of whether they've sought out certification or awards. As long as the building includes at least one feature in any of these seven "green" areas (energy, water, building materials, operations, building surroundings, certifications and awards, other innovative green features) it can be listed with GreenRenter.
In the future, perhaps there will be so many green properties that a score won’t be necessary. For the time being though, it is a great website to find a great place to live and a good tool to rate the sustainability of a living space.
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