The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has awarded its ENERGY STAR® certification to NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center's flagship building at 525 East 68th Street -- the only hospital facility certified in New York City in 2011.
This certification recognizes that the Hospital building performs in the top 25 percent nationwide for meeting strict energy efficiency standards set by the EPA and emits 35 percent less greenhouse gas emissions, on average, than similar hospital buildings nationwide without tradeoffs in performance or comfort.
In addition to the recent certification, NewYork-Presbyterian has received six ENERGY STAR awards for its energy management program -- more than any other hospital in the country -- beginning in 2005. Most recently, NewYork-Presbyterian was honored with an ENERGY STAR Award for Sustained Excellence in Energy Management, recognizing the Hospital's efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through energy efficiency.
Examples of recent energy and environmental initiatives at NewYork-Presbyterian include the following:
* NewYork-Presbyterian's 7.5-megawatt cogeneration plant is reducing emissions of CO2 by more than 27,000 tons each year -- the equivalent to taking 4,600 cars off the road, while adding millions of dollars in annual cost savings. In 2010, NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell achieved an annual energy cost savings of $6.1 million from its co-generation plant.
* NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia's Vivian and Seymour Milstein Family Heart Center received Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold Certification from the Green Building Certification Institute -- one of only six hospitals in the country with a Gold or Platinum designation. The building features recycled materials and is estimated to be 30 percent more energy efficient than a standard structure.
* NewYork-Presbyterian's environmental workplace certification program and "green champions" encourage environmentally friendly practices throughout the organization.
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