Here in America, and in Europe, about 40 per cent of all
our energy consumption is used in buildings -
for heating, cooling, lighting, and other services.
The Empire State Building in Manhattan
is one of the world's most famous landmarks.
It was built in 1931.
Then, nine years ago, it was given a $550 million
refit, including an attempt to give it
some of the world's most demanding energy efficiency
standards.
We've cut our energy consumption by $4.4 million
annually, reduced energy consumption by 38 per cent,
achieve a 3.1 year payback, and create better tenant
spaces that are healthier for tenants and more productive.
The chiller plant here in the basement,
which provides the air conditioning for the building,
was kept in the same space in the refit
but completely rebuilt internally.
Conditions around the building are recorded in real time.
And an automated system called Cortex
advises on how to run the air conditioning most efficiently
while keeping temperatures comfortable.
The efficiency project was backed by businesses,
including Johnson Controls and environmental groups,
including Rocky Mountain Institute,
as a flagship to demonstrate to other buildings what's
possible.
Eighty per cent of the energy use in New York
is used by the 20 per cent largest buildings.
And if those 20 per cent largest buildings replicated the Empire
State Building's deep energy retrofit model -
here we've reduced our energy use by over 40 per cent with
a 3-year payback.
If they all followed suit, the energy use of New York City
would be reduced by 25 per cent. .
One of the big problems with improving efficiency
in buildings can be that both property owners and tenants
need to be convinced that the effort is worthwhile.
Hotels present similar challenges.
We are approaching the global water challenges
by tracking, monitoring, and evaluating our water
consumption.
Hilton has, for a decade, operated a programme called
LightStay to monitor and control its energy and water use.
It recently set a target of cutting
energy use per occupied room by 40 per cent by 2030.
That'll mean encouraging customers to help.
I mean, it was their business, right?
It was really looking at this from a very smart business
perspective, like sustainability was a priority.
But also, what gets measured gets managed.
So you have to measure it.
You have to track it to get your baseline,
to understand where you are, and then
to be able to set long-term targets.
Some of the biggest opportunities for saving energy
are in emerging economies.
The rationale for this is that these
are countries that are building their energy
systems up for the first time.
So what they want to do is escape
the pathway of development the developed world has followed.
And this is a multi-multi-multitrillion
dollar business opportunity.
And we're starting to see real innovation around that now.
Amory Lovins, of Rocky Mountain Institute, argued in a paper
earlier this year for what's called integrative design.
That means developing entire systems
for a building or an industrial process
could release much greater energy savings
than is generally understood.
The Empire State Building is a remarkable example
of how energy consumption can be reduced,
even in quite old buildings.
But to make a significant difference to global greenhouse
gas emissions, these kind of changes
will have to be replicated around the world.
Ed Crooks for the Financial Times in New York.