News
GREEN SCENE: An Owner's Perspective
April 29, 2010
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| Even though SL Green buildings are taking steps towards LEED and Energy Star certification (notably 100 Park, which recently went Silver), sustainable ownership goes beyond those, EVP Ed Piccinich tells us. On March 27, 1515 Broadway, One Madison Avenue, 388 Greenwich, and One Court Square shut off its lights alongside Big Ben, Trevi Foutain, and The Eiffel Tower for Earth Hour, and nine buildings participated in Earth Day activities last week, stressing “reduce, reuse, and recycle†to tenants, visitors, and vendors, who received tote bags and snacked on organic food served with sustainable plates and silverware. Additionally, SL Green continues to focus on recycling and sustainable construction practices, including the use of low-VOC carpet, paint, and tile, he says. |
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| In SL Green's suburban portfolio, under its Reckson division, a slew of green initiatives have springboarded off an '07 construction carpet and ceiling tile recycling program, which has saved 800k-SF worth of materials and 225 tons of debris from a landfill, says director of architectural services Jason Black. After that, the portfolio saw a $1.4M lighting retrofit, saving $500k per year; a $400k mechanical upgrade, saving $170k a year; and the installation of a new 100-kilowatt photovoltaic solar panel on the roof of 500 Putnam in Greenwich, Conn., anticipated to provide 5% of the property's annual energy needs. Ed says that over the next 30 years, this will offset over 6M pounds of carbon emissions—equal to planting 240 acres of trees, recycling 50M cans of soda, or not driving 4.5M miles in a car. |
