NEW YORK (Jan. 20, 2022) – Empire State Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE: ESRT) announced that it is one of four partners selected to receive a competitive grant in the first funding round of the Empire Building Challenge, a $50 million dollar state initiative spearheaded by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) to reduce 85 percent of greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. ESRT joins a select group of real estate peers in this commitment to carbon neutrality goals through investments and innovation in energy efficiency, electrification, energy storage, and retrofit projects.
“Empire State Realty Trust is a long-standing leader in green buildings and we are pleased to partner with them as they push to achieve carbon neutrality across their portfolio,” said Doreen Harris, president and CEO at NYSERDA. “Building on a widely replicated deep energy retrofit in 2009, this Empire State Building 2.0 retrofit project will help demonstrate the business case for building decarbonization and advance innovative technologies needed to meet the needs of all high-rise buildings in New York.”
NYSERDA evaluated proposals based on a project’s scalability and feasibility to address the major challenges of decarbonization of high-rise buildings, as well as the building owner’s willingness and ability to implement solutions successfully across their portfolio of buildings. Their investment in ESRT’s work will provide “proof of concept” to implement pilots for several key projects that are planned for replication throughout the Empire State Building, as well as the rest of the Empire State Realty Trust portfolio.
“The Empire Building Challenge grant is important to ESRT’s leadership work in sustainability and energy efficiency,” said Dana Robbins Schneider, ESRT’s SVP, director of energy, sustainability, and Sustainability. “This funding helps our work to innovate with new technologies, create local jobs, and accelerate progress.”
After a successful deep energy retrofit at the Empire State Building that reduced energy use and greenhouse gas emissions by 40 percent and 54 percent, respectively, ESRT continues work to achieve its aggressive targets for net-zero carbon emissions at the Empire State Building by 2030, and across its 10.1 million square foot commercial portfolio by 2035. ESRT’s industry-leading work for more than a decade has proven the business case for investment in energy efficiency and decarbonization and has been transparently shared to inform policy with practice and to amplify successful implementation to drive change at scale.
“We greatly appreciate the chance to partner with New York State and its support of our continued efforts to innovate, implement, monitor, verify, and share our work,” said Anthony E. Malkin, Chairman, President and CEO of ESRT.
More information about the Empire Building Challenge can be found online. More information about ESRT’s sustainability achievements and future targets can be found online.
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About Empire State Realty Trust
Empire State Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE: ESRT) is a NYC-focused REIT that owns and manages a well-positioned property portfolio of office, retail and multifamily assets in Manhattan and the greater New York metropolitan area. Owner of the Empire State Building, the World’s Most Famous Building, ESRT also owns and operates its iconic, newly reimagined Observatory Experience. The company is a leader in healthy buildings, energy efficiency, and indoor environmental quality, and has the lowest greenhouse gas emissions per square foot of any publicly traded REIT portfolio in New York City. As of Dec. 31, 2021, ESRT’s portfolio is comprised of approximately 9.4 million rentable square feet of office space, 700,000 rentable square feet of retail space and 625 units across two multifamily properties. More information about Empire State Realty Trust can be found at esrtreit.com and by following ESRT on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn.
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