Green Goals: When Considering Sustainability in the Self-Storage Sector, Do the Benefits Outweigh the Costs?

The Clean Buildings Performance Standard mandates that self-storage facilities of 20,000 square feet or larger must track and benchmark their energy use to ensure ongoing compliance with performance standards. Beyond energy requirements, new large-scale self-storage facilities must also undergo environmental reviews under Washington’s State Environmental Policy Act. Operational StewardshipAs the self-storage industry expands its approach to sustainability, operators are discovering that green practices extend far beyond construction and into daily facility management. A good example of this is Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC). In Europe, where energy costs and environmental regulations tend to be stricter, self-storage operators have had to find the business case for sustainability.