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Empire State Building Retrofit

The Empire State Building is an icon of 1930s architecture. Now it will also be a leading example of innovative building management, as it undergoes a retrofit to improve energy efficiency and financial performance. The project, part of CCI’s Building Retrofit program, could reduce the building’s energy use by 38 percent and energy bills by $4.4 million a year, while also preventing 105,000 metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions over the next 15 years.

The Building Retrofit program tackles buildings emissions as a key part of the climate change problem; existing buildings contribute 50 to almost 80 percent of urban greenhouse gas emissions. We bring together many of the world’s largest building owners, energy service companies, financial institutions, and cities to lower greenhouse gas emissions and energy consumption in existing buildings. To date we have helped initiate more than 250 retrofit projects across the public and private sectors, encompassing over 500 million square feet of building space in more than 30 cities around the world. Among these projects, the iconic Empire State Building has given our mission a particular and significant boost, by inspiring building owners worldwide to consider energy efficiency building retrofits that improve building efficiency, reduce the carbon footprint, and save on utility costs. It has also given us an exciting opportunity to use contract documents and tools that we created with BOMA International for the commercial market. Starting with a conversation between CCI’s Jamie Russell and building owner Tony Malkin, the retrofit of the Empire State Building has been a collaborative process. Under the leadership of owners Wein & Malkin, a team comprised of Jones Lang LaSalle, Johnson Controls Inc., the Rocky Mountain Institute and CCI has worked to combine expertise and ingenuity to create a deeply sustainable project that sets a bar for building retrofit in the commercial building sector.

According to New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg, the project team is “showing the rest of the city that existing buildings, no matter how tall they are, no matter how old they are, can take steps to significantly reduce their energy consumption. If they lead the way, others will follow.

“One of the more remarkable takeaways from this historic retrofit project goes beyond the technical expertise and creativity – and that is the extraordinary benefit that comes from collaboration and teamwork.” said Kathy Baczko, CCI New York City Director. For many building owners, capital costs are a barrier to investing in building retrofits. Using energy performance contracting (EPC), a building retrofit generates guaranteed energy savings that, over a number of years, can be equal to the cost of the project including financing costs. Typically, owners can keep these savings or apply them toward the debt repayment on the project.

Using this EPC model, Wien & Malkin can pursue maximum energy savings while minimizing the financial risks. Johnson Controls is providing a unique set of contracting terms and conditions including streamlined procurement, transparency in pricing, and other processes to reduce project cost and development time, and guarantees that the energy savings will be achieved.

The work includes several types of energy efficiency technologies such as high-efficiency window glass replacement, redesigned heating and cooling systems and controls, lighting improvements, and radiative barriers. The project also incorporates behavioural changes including management and operations updates and tenant engagement. Together, these efforts will enable the Empire State Building to apply for Gold level LEED certification. The Empire State Building retrofit project is an important achievement in its own right. But it is equally valuable as an example to other commercial building owners. It shows that retrofits are a smart business proposition that improves buildings’ marketability, asset value, and operating costs – while also reducing greenhouse gas emissions. For building owners and tenants -- and the climate -- commercial building retrofits can deliver a positive outcome for all.

For more information on the Empire State Building retrofit, please visit: www.esbsustainability.com.