The complex includes three buildings, which are managed by CB Richard Ellis. The company has made a policy to reduce its environmental footprint, along with providing advice and services to its clients to do the same, said Eric Smith, operations manager for CB, in a statement. "Our first responsibility is to our tenants…and ensuring we live up to our environmental and sustainable responsibilities," he said. The tenants at this complex include General Electric and Cincom Systems Inc.

Dave Savage with Trane tells GlobeSt.com that more and more companies are investing in green equipment to save money and protect the environment. "A lot more buildings today are working toward LEED certification," he says. "Federal governments are mandated LEED, and local governments are spring-boarding on this requirement. However, large private companies are also taking this on, such as GE in this complex."

He says Northstar was able to gain a large rebate from its utility company for installing efficient equipment. "These rebates are also becoming more common. We're getting ready to do another project that has 24 ice storage tanks, and getting a rebate from the utility company on this one as well. On just about every project today, energy efficiency is a huge driver."