Empire State Building Glows Green for Forces of Nature

Skyscrapers. Even after thirty years of living and working in New York City, the engineering, the architecture, the majesty all keep me peering upward.

The Empire State Building is, without a doubt, one of the most special of them all. She’s nearly 80 years young and continues to thrill more than 3 million visitors each year.

There’s no doubt that the view from the 86th floor observatories are stunning, but for the environmental wonks around us, what is particularly interesting about the Empire State Building these days is what is happening inside: a $500 million retrofit to improve energy efficiency by 38 percent and cut carbon pollution by 105,000 metric tons over the next 15 years.

Malkin Properties, the company that owns and operates the Empire State Building, is understandably proud of its environmental accomplishments; we’re proud to count the Malkins as long-time supporters.

Tonight, at our annual New York gala, NRDC will honor Anthony and Shelly Malkin along with musician and climate activist Sheryl Crow with our Forces of Nature award.

NRDC Trustee Shelly Malkin is a landscape painter and rock climber who helps keep destructive energy development out of wild places. Tony Malkin is real estate industry leader who is turning the Empire State Building into a model of energy efficiency.

The Malkins helped found NRDC’s Center for Market Innovation to direct private investment toward clean energy.  Thanks to their work, more equity firms, institutional lenders, and business leaders recognize that green practices and economic vitality go hand-in-hand.

Sheryl Crow is a Grammy-winning artist and a passionate environmentalist. Recently, she took a model she is deeply familiar with -- hitting the road in a tour bus -- and joined NRDC Trustee Laurie David in a barnstorming campaign through Southern college towns to educate students about climate change. Sheryl attracted people who might not have been concerned about the issue, and then she mobilized them to take positive action.

The Empire State Building will glow green tonight in honor of Shelly and Tony Malkin, Sheryl Crow and NRDC. And as her retrofit continues, she’ll glow green throughout the year as a 102-story beacon of sustainability.

Photograph by Lisa Whiteman