SL Green joins mayor de Blasio’s Carbon Challenge across 7 million s/f

Marc Holliday, SL Green Realty

New York, NY SL Green Realty Corp. is participating in the New York City Mayor’s Carbon Challenge for Commercial Owners and Tenants across 7 million s/f of the company’s portfolio.

In “One New York: The Plan for a Strong and Just City,” mayor de Blasio has established the ambitious goal of reducing citywide greenhouse gas emissions 80% by 2050 (80 x 50). The Carbon Challenge is a voluntary pilot program that encourages landlords and tenants to support the city’s emission reduction goals through collaborative energy efficiency initiatives.

“It is a company-wide priority that our buildings operate at the highest efficiency standards,” said Marc Holliday, CEO of SL Green.  “We employ best practices and lead by example, while aligning our sustainability program with the goals enumerated by the city and other international urban business districts.”

SL Green and its participating tenants have committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions from their buildings by 30% or more in 10 years.

“As New York City’s largest commercial landlord, SL Green is responsible for working with our tenants to strengthen our community’s resiliency. We recognize that landlord initiatives alone will not address the city’s emission reduction goals—instead, landlord-tenant partnerships are critical,” said Elizabeth Majkowski, senior vice president, operations and director of sustainability for SL Green.

According to the mayor’s office of sustainability, the challenge is projected to reduce citywide greenhouse gas emissions by an additional 60,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (tCO2e)—the equivalent of taking almost 13,000 cars off the roads—and result in an estimated $50 million in energy cost savings.