The Empire State Building has been awarded LEED Gold for Existing Buildings certification as further recognition from the $550 million Empire State Rebuilding program.
The 2.85 million-sf building is celebrating its 80th anniversary while nearing completion of its renewal and repurposing to meet the needs of 21st Century businesses.
The LEED Gold certification follows the creation and implementation of a new replicable, transparent, quantifiable process for economically justified energy efficient retrofits in the existing built environment created a team of the Clinton Climate Initiative, Johnson Controls, Jones Lang LaSalle and the Rocky Mountain Institute.
The retrofit conducted by Johnson Controls and Jones Lang LaSalle is guaranteed to reduce the building's energy consumption by more than 38% and should save $4.4 million in energy costs annually, representing an approximate three-year payback of the cost of implementation.
The improvements also reduce carbon emissions by an estimated 105,000 metric tons over 15 years. BD+C
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