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Sustainable Options helps The Falls and Lake View II office buildings at Sanctuary Park in Alpharetta, Georgia, secure LEED Gold certification from the US Green Building Council.

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The Rankings, now in its second year, were created to inspire, motivate, and create awareness about the sustainability progress of publicly traded companies headquartered in the Southeast. "It is a pleasure to pay tribute to this year's top performers," said Armistead. "These corporations deserve recognition for their success in being leaders of environmental, social and governance (ESG) and we applaud each for their continued commitment in doing the right thing."

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Kimsey made it clear that just about everyone GSA deals with - from office and building supply companies to property managers to landlords and builders - need to be aggressively tackling their industries’ respective sustainability issues if they hope to do business with nation’s largest real estate player.

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To see how corporate America is getting behind the green movement, look no further than their real estate decisions.

Last month, Big Four auditor Ernst & Young LLP completed a 10-year lease for office space in Orange County, Calif. The agreement included a $300,000 penalty if the building failed to meet standards set forth by the U.S. Green Building Council.

It's just one example of corporate America dispelling the notion that "greening" its real estate is just a fad. The movement is under way from Madison Avenue to Main Street USA.

"It's almost mandatory that new construction be designed to meet green or LEED standards," said Greg O'Brien, a principal with the Atlanta-based green consulting firm Sustainable Options LLC. "The risk is greater if the building doesn't meet those standards. It creates the perception that the owner isn't socially responsible."

Fortune 500 companies are getting the message.

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The race to achieve LEED 2009 GBOM certification has already started. Many real estate portfolio and asset managers feel that LEED 2009 GBOM certification is a worthy goal because of two primary characteristics that differentiate GBOM from all other LEED ratings: it is the only LEED system that measures actual performance, and it is the only LEED system that can be recertified.