WASTE MANAGEMENT We deploy aggressive waste diversion strategies that meet and/or exceed local regulations, as feasible. We provide training and set best practices and standards for our employees and outside contractor teams to reduce overall waste generation and increase diversion rates. We identify opportunities to track and report waste at each property to ensure that all waste is being collected and diverted in accordance with ESRT’s guidelines.
We commit to performing waste audits at 100% of our buildings to understand waste performance and identify opportunities for improvement. We improve performance through enhanced signage, employee and tenant engagement, and tracking and reporting measures. We have implemented pilot compost programs with some of our largest tenants and offer furniture reuse and donation programs, and electronic waste collection opportunities.
WATER EFFICIENCY We implement water efficiency strategies to support our water reduction goals and minimize our impact on the environment. Our water efficiency initiatives include a combination of retrofits, submeters, and pilot technology. • Low-flow retrofits/upgrades: As part of our standards, we continue to implement ultra-low-flow fixtures that we estimate to be 40–50% better than code and are EPA WaterSense labeled. • Water submeters: To monitor and measure water consumption by end use and identify areas for targeted reduction, we install water submeters for key water-using systems. We track progress from water efficiency upgrades, identify leaks from specific systems, and readily identify opportunities to increase water efficiency. • Advanced software-based water use monitoring: We have implemented an artificial intelligence software to detect and stop water leaks in select spaces, monitor water use, and analyze water use trends. This technology enables our Property Managers and Engineers to expertly manage water consumption and make informed operational decisions in real time. As of December 31, 2020, 30% of our portfolio has implemented this smart technology. We plan to extend implementation of this technology to further reduce process water usage over the next five years.
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