NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Empire State Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE: ESRT) today announced that it achieved the 2024 ENERGY STAR Sustained Excellence Award from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) for the second consecutive year. The achievement highlights ESRT’s consistent ENERGY STAR Partner of the Year recognition for outstanding leadership in environmental and public health initiatives, as 100% of the company’s NYC commercial portfolio is ENERGY STAR certified.
“ESRT has prioritized the ‘how’ when it comes to energy efficiency, indoor environmental quality (IEQ), and healthy buildings for more than 15 years. Our second achievement of the Sustained Excellence Award reaffirms our leadership and the power of initiatives to ensure our portfolio is future-ready,” said Anthony E. Malkin, chairman and CEO at Empire State Realty Trust.
ESRT received its initial recognition as ENERGY STAR Partner of the Year in 2020 and has achieved it every year since. Through an industry-leading retrofit at the Empire State Building, ESRT reduced emissions at the building by 56% and subsequently published its Version 2.0 work on the international icon for sustainability, 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 playbook guides building owners in the steps to achieve carbon neutrality through emissions reduction with a proven return on investment.
The company achieved carbon neutrality for its commercial portfolio in 2022 and its multifamily portfolio in 2023, through a combination of significant reduction in operational emissions and offset of residual emissions through clean energy generation and accredited initiatives, and continues to work toward its target of net zero emissions at the Empire State Building by 2030 and throughout the portfolio by 2035 through a goal of 80% reduction in operational emissions in partnership with a renewably sourced grid aligned with the New York State Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA).
The ENERGY STAR program honors a select group of businesses and organizations that have made outstanding contributions to energy efficiency and the transition to a clean energy economy each year. ENERGY STAR award winners lead their industries in the production, sale, and adoption of energy-efficient products, homes, buildings, services, and strategies.
Through its leadership and innovation in sustainability and energy efficiency, ESRT received the DOE’s Better Practice and Better Project Awards; the Mayor’s Carbon Challenge Award; the NYC Accelerator Innovator Award; the Building Owners & Managers Association of Greater New York (BOMA New York) Earth Award and the BOMA Grand Pinnacle Award; and received the Global Real Estate Sustainability Benchmark (GRESB) 5 Star Rating each year since 2020. In 2023, GRESB ranked ESRT 1st of 115 Americas’ listed companies. The Empire State Building was recognized by the Manhattan Chamber of Commerce as the Landmark Icon of the Year for the building’s significant cultural impact and approach to modernization.
In its annual Sustainability Report, ESRT transparently highlights its leadership, practices and progress toward its energy efficiency, net zero carbon, and sustainability goals. Learn more about ESRT’s environmental, social, and governance commitments here.
About Empire State Realty Trust
Empire State Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE: ESRT) is a NYC-focused REIT that owns and operates a portfolio of modernized, amenitized, and well-located office, retail, and multifamily assets. The company is the recognized leader in energy efficiency and indoor environmental quality. ESRT’s flagship Empire State Building – the “World’s Most Famous Building” – includes its Observatory, the #1 attraction in the U.S. in Tripadvisor’s 2023 Travelers’ Choice Awards: Best of the Best for two consecutive years. As of December 31, 2023, ESRT's portfolio is comprised of approximately 8.6 million rentable square feet of office space, 0.7 million rentable square feet of retail space and 727 residential units. More information about Empire State Realty Trust can be found at esrtreit.com and by following ESRT on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, X, and LinkedIn.
About ENERGY STAR
ENERGY STAR® is the government-backed symbol for energy efficiency, providing simple, credible, and unbiased information that consumers and businesses rely on to make well-informed decisions. Since 1992, ENERGY STAR and its partners helped American families and businesses avoid more than $500 billion in energy costs and achieve more than 4 billion metric tons of greenhouse gas reductions. More background information about ENERGY STAR’s impacts can be found at www.energystar.gov/impacts.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release includes "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the federal securities laws. We intend these forward-looking statements to be covered by the safe harbor provisions for forward-looking statements contained in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and are including this statement for purposes of complying with those safe harbor provisions. You can identify these statements by use of words such as “aims," "anticipates," "approximately," "believes," "contemplates," "continues," "estimates," "expects," "forecasts," "hope," "intends," "may," "plans," "seeks," "should," "thinks," "will," "would" or the negative of these words and phrases or similar words or expressions that do not relate to historical matters. You should exercise caution in interpreting and relying on forward-looking statements, because they involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which are, in some cases, beyond the Company's control and could materially affect actual results, performance or achievements. These factors include, without limitation, the risks and uncertainties detailed from time to time in the Company’s filings with the SEC and any failure of the conditions or events cited in this release. Except as may be required by law, the Company does not undertake a duty to update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
The sustainability aspirations, targets and objectives discussed in this release reflect our current plans and aspirations and are not guarantees that we will be able to achieve them. In addition, these efforts are impacted by our tenants’ willingness and ability to collaborate in reporting sustainability metrics and meeting sustainability goals, the ability of the New York grid to meet the emissions reduction targets and timing set forth in New York State’s CLCPA legislation, and replacement of equipment at the end of its useful life cycle.
Source: Empire State Realty Trust, Inc.
Category: Sustainability
