SUSTAINABILITY OBJECTIVES AND STRATEGY
INTRODUCTION
ENVIRONMENTAL
CORPORATE CITIZENSHIP
GOVERNANCE AND TRANSPARENT REPORTING
APPENDICES
LEADERSHIP IN INNOVATION
ESRT was an original participant in the NYSERDA Empire Building Challenge, which supports dialogue between real estate, engineering, and technology providers to identify and implement innovative solutions that reduce energy usage in high-rise buildings. ESRT’s Empire Building Challenge projects focus on: • Advanced building management system (BMS)
ESRT’s thought leadership explores new tactics and technologies in the real estate market to provide data for decisions and a blueprint for action. We routinely and methodically assess progress toward our objectives. We leverage a variety of technologies, automation platforms, and real-time data to gain a comprehensive understanding of consumption and performance, identify opportunities for improvement, and validate the impact of measures we implement. Our portfolio is a dynamic living laboratory that enables us to explore technologies that will propel our industry forward. We manage risk in our portfolio through the implementation of physical and operational resilience techniques in each building, and where possible, we amplify and distribute that information in an open-source manner so that others can benefit from our experience.
ESRT was the first company to be awarded the newly updated NYSERDA RTEM+ incentive in 2022 to support the advanced management and reduction of tenant energy use through cutting-edge strategies and initiatives. In 2024, ESRT received incentives from Con Edison’s Clean Heat Statewide Heat Pump Program to advance the adoption of efficient electric heat pump systems within our buildings and partnered with NYSERDA to secure an incentive to help fund our groundbreaking geothermal study at the Empire State Building.
upgrades and optimization • Energy recovery systems • Steam reduction technologies
• Partial electrification through water- and air-source heat pumps for heating and cooling and pilot heat pump systems for domestic hot water
EMPIRE BUILDING PLAYBOOK In April 2022, we published the Empire Building Playbook: An Owner’s Guide to Low Carbon Retrofits . Co-developed with NYSERDA and supported by the Clinton Global Initiative, the innovative guide outlines the step-by-step process for existing commercial buildings to develop a pathway to energy reduction with positive financial returns. Based on insights and successes gained through real-life case studies of large, complex buildings, the resource is openly available online. In 2024, ESRT and NYSERDA expanded the Empire Building Playbook and launched The Retrofit Playbook for Large Buildings to demonstrate further the business case for energy efficiency at large commercial and multifamily buildings and to enhance scalability and educational tools so that more owners can leverage our tools and lessons. To scale this model, we convened other leading multifamily owners in New York City along with a manufacturer’s consortium to partner on necessary development and scale of technologies.
“These partnerships between technology innovators and the state’s real estate leaders will advance scalable decarbonization solutions that reduce emissions from high- rise buildings while growing the clean energy economy.”
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Doreen M. Harris NYSERDA President and CEO
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2024 SUSTAINABILITY REPORT
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