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INTRODUCTION
SUSTAINABILITY OBJECTIVES AND STRATEGY
ENVIRONMENTAL
SOCIAL
POLICIES AND TRANSPARENT REPORTING
APPENDICES
We are pleased to share our 2023 Sustainability Report and present another year of achievement, leadership, and commitment to our shareholders, tenants, team, and community. ESRT’s goals are to lease space, sell tickets to the Empire State Building Observatory, maintain our balance sheet, and achieve our sustainability goals…all to build value for investors. Our focus on the creation and preservation of value requires attention to our bottom line through logical, balanced leadership and execution in sustainability to deliver on our goals over the near, medium, and long terms. ESRT continues to lead by example in environmental stewardship and healthy building performance. As we continue to grow our portfolio, we consistently uphold our values and standards in environmental and social sustainability and transparent reporting and disclosure. The Global Real Estate Sustainability Benchmark (GRESB) ranked ESRT number one for all Listed Companies in the Americas’ and in the most competitive peer group, and we also achieved a 5-Stars Rating and the highest score in disclosure. Each property is an opportunity to expand our proven process to make decisions based on data and science, successfully implement measures to drive positive performance improvement, and deliver measurable returns on investment. We proactively engage with our tenants to align with our sustainability objectives and aid in the measurement, reporting, and achievement of their sustainability goals. We maintained carbon neutrality across our entire commercial and multifamily portfolio, an important step toward our ultimate target of Net Zero emissions at the Empire State Building by 2030 and across our entire portfolio by 2035. Our targets are dependent on continued partnership with the design, construction, and operation of our tenants’ spaces, New York State’s achievement of its dates and renewable grid targets as set forth in the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA), and our replacement of equipment at the end of its useful life cycle. ESRT received target validation and approval from the Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTi), aligned with its most stringent 1.5°C trajectory. We intend to demonstrate to the industry how to make these ambitious goals achievable and economically advantageous.
In April 2022, we published the Empire Building Playbook: An Owner’s Guide to Low Carbon Retrofits (the Playbook) in partnership with the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) and supported by the Clinton Global Initiative. The Playbook provides a roadmap for building landlords to reduce the carbon emissions of high-rise buildings in alignment with Local Law 97 (LL97) and New York State’s CLCPA through replication of the technical and economic approaches used at the Empire State Building. As the first commercial portfolio in the Americas to achieve and maintain the WELL Health-Safety Rating across 100% of our portfolio and one of the first to have our rating renewed three times, we are dedicated to the advancement of scientifically validated approaches to healthy buildings and indoor environmental quality (IEQ) to boost tenant and employee well- being. We continue to pilot new and innovative IEQ technologies to position our assets to exceed global IEQ health and wellness standards. We drive inclusion and accountability with safety and respect for every ESRT community member.
In 2023, ESRT was the first commercial office and multifamily company to achieve International WELL Building Institute’s (IWBI) WELL Equity Rating in the United States. Our goals for diversity in our workplace and supply chain, recognition by the Bloomberg Gender-Equality Index, and commitment to the United Nations Global Compact and Women’s Empowerment Principles demonstrate that we can address the concerns of today while at the same time maintain accountability for our bottom line. Our corporate and union colleague engagement has never been higher. While our business environment has not gotten easier, ESRT continues to perform, set new objectives, and achieve them, and do all of this with focus on our goals. We hope you enjoy your read of this report as much as we enjoy the challenge and accomplishment it represents.
Onward and upward.
Dana Robbins Schneider SVP, Director of Energy, Sustainability, and ESG
Anthony E. Malkin Chairman and CEO
Christina Chiu President
EMPIRE STATE REALTY TRUST: 2023 SUSTAINABILITY REPORT
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