Empire State Building Retrofit

From Rocky Mountain Institute, one can always expect impressive information and results.

Below is some recent information and the point is well taken that reducing the costs of energy improves the bottom line or for the homeowner, money in your pocket.

We are excited to announce that, along with project partners Jones Lang LaSalle, Clinton Climate Initiative and Johnson Controls, RMI has won the Sustainable Building Industry Council’s "Beyond Green High Performance Building Award" for the retrofit of the Empire State Building!

The award was presented February 25 on Capitol Hill during an educational briefing for the High Performance Buildings Congressional Caucus Coalition.


A Blueprint for Success


In April of 2009, we shared with you initial news of the Empire State Building retrofit. Now, ten months later, this iconic project has drawn attention to efficiency improvements and encouraged other building owners to follow suit. It has become a great example of what can cost-effectively be done in existing buildings to benefit the owner, occupants and the environment.

"As our nation pursues strategies that allow us to use our natural resources more efficiently, a focus on high-performance buildings is a must," SBIC Executive Director Bud DeFlaviis stated. "Rocky Mountain Institute and their partners have demonstrated the role that retrofits will play in this effort. Their work will undoubtedly help inspire other forward-thinking building practitioners who are creating a new generation of buildings that are mindful of the people they serve and the environment they impact."




RetroFit


This award comes at a great time, with RMI launching our new initiative, RetroFit. Building off both the success and lessons learned from our Empire State Building project, this initiative--which will be funded in large part by philanthropy--aims to encourage the retrofit of the entire U.S. commercial building stock to use, on average, 50 percent less energy by 2050.

We look forward to keeping you updated on further details on the RetroFit initiative, as we draw closer to launch!