Green business has long been touted as good business. Just one problem: Metrics that support that hypothesis have traditionally been in short supply. Now comes Dr. Nils Kok, a visiting economist at UC Berkeley, co-founder and executive director of the Global Real Estate Sustainability Benchmark (GRESB), an organization dedicated to mitigating the enormous environmental impact made by real estate structures, as well as tracking the positive financial impact recorded by those who are implementing sustainability measures. Kok and his organization are apparently making an impression, as participation in the annual GRESB survey has increased from 195 REITs and privately managed funds in 2010 to 450 this year. Some of the biggest names in institutional real estate have lined up behind GRESB. Kok recently spoke with Mike Consol, editor of The Institutional Real Estate Letter – North America, about the strides his organization and the real es