The Empire State Building & Sustainability

The Empire State Building is a real icon in New York's skyscape and is known the world over. When construction was completed in 1931 it became the world's tallest building. The landmark is currently undergoing a $500 million refurbishment and the end result will generate a 38% reduction in energy costs. At long last we have a real live example of how our industry can really get energy savings from a building. Click here for further details on this case study.

The most striking thing for me was we now have a live example of a project with a three year payback plus the building owner can make a profit!

A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to meet its owner -Tony Malkin as the BBC hosted a briefing session at Broadcasting House on this important subject. For more details about Tony have a look at his YouTube video interview.

He is really leading the way on the sustainability agenda and was in the UK to share his message with us that we should focus not on greener buildings but on cutting consumption! Rather than waxing lyrical about this, have a look at the video story on the JCI website.

For another perspective on this session have a look at Peter Bill's piece in the Estates Gazette of 15 May 2010. It was good to see Peter call on the UK property industry to do things 'for the good of the planet'.

If our American colleagues can get their act together isn't it time for the UK to get really serious about the need to cut carbon emissions?!