Is It Easy Being Green?: MIT Sloan Considers the Opportunities and Threats of Sustainable Building

Abstract

In early 2000, Dean Richard Schmalensee of MIT’s Sloan School of Management needed to make a decision that would shape the future of the school for decades to come. Sloan desperately needed a new building with great classrooms, faculty offices, study rooms for students, and dining. Schmalensee needed to decide whether the new building should be built quickly, using traditional design methods and features, or whether he should commit to a sustainable “green” building, as the building committee he had convened recommended. But what did green building really mean? How much more would it cost? What were the risks? Was there a business case for building green?

Learning Objectives

To explore the business case for “green” buildings including: What are the costs and benefits of energy efficient, sustainable buildings? What return on investment do they offer? Does building green come at the cost of significantly higher up-front design and construction costs? What are the organizational challenges in building consensus for green buildings?

Appropriate for the Following Course(s)

sustainability, project management, real estate

Is It Easy Being Green?: MIT Sloan Considers the Opportunities and Threats of Sustainable Building

THERE IS NO TEACHING NOTE FOR THIS CASE STUDY.