12
SUSTAINABILITY OBJECTIVES AND STRATEGY
INTRODUCTION
ENVIRONMENTAL
SOCIAL
POLICIES AND TRANSPARENT REPORTING
APPENDICES
Leadership in Innovation
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 comprehensively assess progress towards our objectives. We leverage a variety of technologies, automation platforms, and real-time data to provide 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 in which we explore technologies that will propel our industry forward. We manage risk in our portfolio through implementation of physical and operational resilience techniques in each building, and we amplify and distribute that information in an open-source style so that others can benefit from our experience. Our participation in the NYSERDA Empire Building Challenge, which supports dialogue between real estate, engineering, and technology providers to identify and implement innovative solutions that reduce emissions in high-rise buildings, resulted in the award of one of only four $5 million grants in the Challenge’s first cohort of participants to be used toward strategic pilot projects. ESRT’s Empire Building Challenge projects will focus on advanced building management system (BMS) upgrades and optimization, energy recovery systems, steam use reduction technologies, and partial electrification through water and air source heat pumps and conversion to air source domestic hot water at the Empire State Building. 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 2023 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.
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 other NYC-based landlords and the Clinton Global Initiative, the innovative guide outlines the step-by-step process for existing commercial buildings to develop a pathway to carbon 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 2023, we partnered with NYSERDA to further develop the Playbook and prove the business case to target Net Zero emissions for multifamily buildings. We convened with other leading multifamily owners in New York City to scale this model along with a manufacturer’s consortium to partner on development and scale of technologies necessary to achieve targeted emissions reductions across the city. We plan to publish this Playbook in 2024.
“ “
What the Empire State Building did is a blueprint for how we can modernize our buildings, reduce emissions, convert to a carbon-free future, and create new jobs. If we could do the same thing for every sizable building in every city in America, we would probably buy ourselves decades before the worst consequences of climate change come down on us. Bill Clinton 42 nd President of the United States Founder and Board Chair, Clinton Foundation
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. Doreen M. Harris NYSERDA President and CEO
EMPIRE STATE REALTY TRUST: 2023 SUSTAINABILITY REPORT
Made with FlippingBook - Online magazine maker