Expert Q&As

We caught up with Tony Malkin to discuss W&H's involvement in green building.

What is your view on green building?
Buildings in New York City create 65 to 70 percent of the city's entire carbon footprint, and constructing new green buildings won't move the needle in mitigating this problem. It is far more important to address the existing building stock. For example, at the Empire State Building, we are only working with LEED certified project managers who in turn work with existing tenants and new tenancy. However, what will actually mitigate the largest portion of the carbon footprint has yet to be determined.

What are some of the other initiatives W & H is taking to address sustainability in its portfolio?
As I just mentioned, we are only using USGBC LEED certified project managers on our projects. Tenant installation requirements are now in place, and we're also training architects who are designing pre-builts that address green principles. Additionally, we are only using green pest control and cleaning products. We also have 30 hybrid construction and maintenance vehicles.

Tell us about the Metro Green project in Stamford, Connecticut.
We are going for LEED Platinum on Metro Green. One of the most important aspects of this project is that it consists of affordable housing which is rare at this point in green building and development. It is also a transit-oriented development, which automatically brings in additional LEED points.

Obviously there is serious money that can be made from the green industry. What other strategies do you find helpful?
Electricity recycling is one area we are looking at. We're also negotiating with trash haulers and sorters, and we are basically selling our trash to them.

What are some of the other initiatives you are involved with?
I'm on the advisory board of Mission Point Capital, whose mission is to fund equity growth through sustainable investments. My wife and I also gave a founding gift to the Center for Market Innovation, which is part of the National Resources Defense Council. They are an organization that seeks to reward environmentally sound business practices.

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