Empire Building Challenge
Showcasing Decarbonization Projects for Office and Multifamily High-Rises
The Empire Building Challenge (EBC) is a public-private partnership between NYSERDA and leading commercial and multifamily real estate owners that is elevating new design approaches for low-carbon retrofits in New York’s tallest buildings. Through demonstration projects across New York State, EBC showcases best-in-class resource efficient decarbonization strategies (RED). The EBC also provides comprehensive resources and a knowledge-sharing platform, the Retrofit Playbook for Large Buildings 
, to support building owners, operators, and their engineering and design teams in creating realistic decarbonization roadmaps, and in making the business case for technically and financially viable solutions.
EBC partners represent over 20% of commercial office space in New York City and oversee more than 200,000 housing units. These partners have committed to decarbonize over 125 million square feet and 1,500+ units of affordable housing.
Learn More About the Empire Building Challenge
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EBC Projects
Read More EBC ProjectsExplore multifamily and commercial projects showcasing the EBC holistic approach to building decarbonization.
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EBC Partners
Read More EBC PartnersLearn about the real estate portfolio owners leading New York’s decarbonization efforts.
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Retrofit Playbook for Large Buildings
Read More Retrofit Playbook for Large Buildings (opens in new window)Access the EBC knowledge-sharing platform and resource library for guidance and insights to inform the development of building decarbonization roadmaps.
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Building Decarbonization Insights
Read More Building Decarbonization InsightsDiscover resources and guidance on building decarbonization, including the Resource Efficient Decarbonization approach to developing a decarbonization roadmap.
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Public Events Series
Learn More Public Events SeriesMeet the people behind low-carbon retrofit success stories to share knowledge and to make key connections among the real estate, engineering, and design communities.
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Decarbonization Design Charrette
Learn More Decarbonization Design Charrette (opens in new window)Get support from our building experts to organize a collaborative design review workshop (charrette) to identify solutions and advance the decarbonization planning process.
Challenge the Status Quo
We challenge the real estate, construction, engineering, and design communities to change the status quo for large building retrofits. Our goal is to harness our partners’ commitments and unleash the collective creativity of the world’s leading R&D, architecture, engineering, and manufacturing teams.
EBC demonstration projects emphasize transformative decarbonization technologies, achieve meaningful energy use intensity (EUI) and carbon reduction, and create pathways for others to replicate successes while minimizing risk. These retrofit projects reveal economically and technically feasible approaches to inform strategies for property owners and facilities teams, from decarbonizing heating loads, to increasing flexibility of a building’s energy demand and reducing tenant-driven consumption.
This retrofit activity will introduce new technologies to the New York market, set new design standards for the high-rise building market, and create green jobs of the future.
More on Building Decarbonization
- Inflation Reduction Act: Explore tax credits and incentives for commercial, multifamily, and industrial facilities to implement energy efficiency upgrades and adopt clean energy technologies.
- Navigating Building Decarbonization in New York State: Learn how commercial and industrial facilities can start building value today through energy efficiency and strategic electrification to make progress toward a decarbonized future.
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