NEW YORK—With hotels filled to capacity as families celebrate the holiday season and new year in New York City, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced that 16 major hotels are joining the NYC Carbon Challenge, another significant expansion of the partnership between the City and private and institutional sector leaders who have committed to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from their buildings by 30 percent or more in the next 10 years.
This expansion marks a major commitment by the city’s hotels to help New York City reach its goal of dramatically reducing emissions from buildings (which make up nearly three-quarters of citywide emissions), part of Mayor de Blasio’s plan to reduce all citywide GHG emissions 80 percent by 2050. The expansion of the NYC Carbon Challenge to these 16 hotels is projected to reduce citywide GHG emissions by an additional 32,000 metric tons and result in an estimated $25 million in energy cost savings.
“Whether we’re talking about universities, hospitals, and offices, or large apartment buildings and hotels, all of New York City has a stake in our fight against climate change,” said Mayor de Blasio. “If some of New York’s most iconic hotels can significantly reduce their carbon footprint, anyone can. NYC Carbon Challenge participants are joining City government in leading by example through the green retrofits all buildings should make—and that’s no small feat, with current Challenge commitments equivalent to removing over 100,000 cars from our roads.”
Participating Hotels Account for More Than 11,000 Rooms
The sixteen participating hotels include: 1 Hotel Brooklyn Bridge, 1 Hotel Central Park, Crowne Plaza Times Square, Dream Downtown, Grand Hyatt New York, Hotel Pennsylvania, Hudson Hotel, Loews Regency Hotel, Lotte New York Palace, The Pierre—A Taj Hotel, The Peninsula New York, InterContinental New York Barclay, InterContinental New York Times Square, Roger Smith Hotel, Waldorf Astoria New York, and the Westin New York at Times Square. These hotels represent almost 10 million square feet, accounting for more than 11,000 rooms.
The expansion of the NYC Carbon Challenge is a key initiative in Mayor de Blasio’s One City: Built to Last, New York City’s 10-year plan to improve the energy efficiency of its buildings and put the City on a pathway to achieving 80 by 50. The expansion builds on the success of the existing NYC Carbon Challenge program, which was launched in 2007 with universities and grew to include hospitals and commercial offices; last year Mayor de Blasio expanded the program to multifamily buildings. Current participants include more than 17 universities, 11 hospital organizations, 11 commercial firms, and 18 residential property management companies representing 720 multifamily buildings. To date, participants have achieved an average of a 19 percent reduction; eight participants have already achieved their full carbon reduction goals, demonstrating that deep carbon reductions are achievable in just a few years.
The current NYC Carbon Challenge participants make up over 255 million square feet of real estate and account for nearly 7 percent of citywide building-based emissions. In total, the Challenge is expected to reduce emissions by 515,000 metric tons—the equivalent of taking more than 100,000 cars off the roads—and result in an estimated $220 million in energy cost savings that can be reinvested in business operations, students, staff, patients, customers, and research. By the end of the program in 2025, participants will have spent roughly $160 million in annual construction activity, creating more than 650 construction-related jobs.
NYC Carbon Challenge participants join City government in leading by example through green retrofits. Mayor de Blasio has committed to retrofitting every public building by 2025; earlier this month, he announced significant progress in that work.
Leaders in Fight Against Climate Change
“In joining the NYC Carbon Challenge, New York City’s iconic hotels are now also worldwide leaders in the fight against climate change, and are once again redefining excellence in the hospitality sector to include responsibility for climate action,” said Nilda Mesa, Director of the Mayor’s Office of Sustainability. “While visitors to NYC for the most part won’t be able to see the building system changes, these steps will be every bit as important to the city as the steps the Rockettes take.”
“The Hotel Association of New York City is pleased to partner with the Mayor’s Office of Sustainability on this important initiative,” said Joseph E. Spinnato, President, Hotel Association of New York City. “These leaders are setting high standards for environmental stewardship in New York City’s thriving tourism industry. We are excited to see that these participating hotels will continue to make a positive impact on the environment and the communities around them.”
“As one of the city’s legendary hotels that has stood as a landmark since 1931, the Waldorf Astoria New York is in a unique position to embrace the NYC Carbon Challenge as we are a showcase to both travelers and New York residents alike,” said Michael Hoffmann, Managing Director, Waldorf Astoria New York. “With a longstanding motto of ‘the difficult immediately, the impossible takes a bit longer,’ we pride ourselves in the ability to embrace a challenge, especially one that is so important to the New York City community. We look forward to continuing to dramatically reduce our greenhouse gas emissions over the next 10 years.”
“The NYC Carbon Challenge is inspiring hotels in New York City to take their commitments to sustainability and energy efficiency to the next level,” said Hervé Houdré, General Manager, InterContinental New York Barclay. “The InterContinental New York Barclay is proud to partner with the Mayor’s Office to reduce its carbon footprint in years to come. As the nation’s number one big city destination, the hotels in the NYC Carbon Challenge are showing the rest of the world that our City is committed to reducing our carbon emissions and fighting climate change.”
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