SL Green using IBM technology to operationalize sustainability initiatives across NYC real estate portfolio

New York, NY SL Green Realty Corp. (NYSE: SLG) will be leveraging IBM (NYSE: IBM) sustainability software to help advance their company’s environmental, social and governance (ESG) strategy. SL Green will use software from Envizi, an IBM Company, to better understand and report on its environmental initiatives, identify opportunities for greater efficiency and further drive sustainability across its extensive real estate operations.

SL Green is focused on effectively managing its portfolio of Manhattan commercial properties, with interest in more than 70 buildings totaling 34.9 million s/f. In the face of climate change and quickly evolving societal challenges, SL Green is committed to a broad set of sustainability initiatives and goals – from environmental efforts such as optimizing energy, water and waste management, to sustainable development of new properties, and programs to benefit the health and safety of both tenants and the local community. In 2021, SL Green aligned with the Urban Land Institute (ULI) Net Zero by 2050 goal of carbon neutral building operations and remains committed to setting a Science-Based Target for greenhouse gas emissions. 

“As the largest owner of office real estate in New York, we have been pioneers in ESG, taking action to support the City’s vital sustainability initiatives,” said Laura Vulaj, senior vice president & director of Sustainability at SL Green. “Being committed to making data-driven decisions has been a crucial differentiator for us, and Envizi’s advanced technology can enable us to further streamline these initiatives in a transparent and measurable way for our stakeholders.”

Working with IBM, SL Green will use Envizi software as a service (SaaS) to help manage and accelerate sustainability initiatives across its portfolio. For example:

• Create a single system of record for sustainability and ESG data: Envizi can help SL Green streamline the collection of data from a wide range of sources such as utility data, renewable energy certificates, waste data, business travel, purchased goods and services, in order to provide all stakeholders with consistent data for reporting, analysis and decision making – for example, to support Scope 1, 2 and 3 GHG emission calculations. 
• Analyze data to inform sustainability decision-making: SL Green can apply Envizi’s advanced analytics to transform this data into insights on the performance of its portfolio, which can help drive better decisions and meet sustainability goals. For example, Envizi could help SL Green calculate greenhouse gas emissions, set decarbonization targets and track progress towards its emissions reduction goals. 
• Streamline ESG and sustainability reporting: SL Green is committed to transparent ESG disclosures and reports its performance under a wide variety of ESG reporting frameworks including CDP, SASB, TCFD, GRI, CSA (DJSI) and SBTi. Envizi’s ESG reporting capabilities can make it easier for SL Green to streamline these reporting processes, with all reporting questions and responses managed within a single software interface.

“The ability to transform widespread operational and environmental data into insights that business leaders and stakeholders can understand is a foundational step towards making sustainability initiatives effective and scalable,” said Kareem Yusuf, Ph.D., general manager, IBM Sustainability Software. “By taking a 360-degree approach, supported by connections between data, technologies and processes, companies can operationalize sustainability initiatives across their organization.”