The Empire State Building in New York City, the world's tallest building from 1931 to 1972, aims to lead the world again, this time in energy saving, through a giant retrofitting project.

The New York City landmark announced on Monday that it will begin a renovation this summer expected to reduce the skyscraper's energy use by 38 percent a year, saving US$4.4 million a year. The retrofit project is part of a 500-million-dollar building makeover already underway that aims to attract larger corporate occupants at higher rents.

Former US president Bill Clinton and New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, present at a Monday press conference held in the Building, both expressed the hope that the environmental changes at the iconic skyscraper would serve as a model for buildings around the world.

Anthony E. Malkin, president of Wien & Malkin, the building's owner, echoed the views of Clinton and Bloomberg. He said although the retrofit was specifically designed for the iconic Empire State Building and its massive features -- 102 stories, 2.6 million square feet (about 241,547 square meters), 6,500 windows and 73 elevators -- the energy-efficiency improvements are meant to serve as a model for other office buildings around the world.

Malkin said upfront costs are often a deterrent for retrofitting older buildings, but energy savings for the building are expected to pay back those costs in only about three years.

"People associate greening with expense and compromise," Malkin said. "We're trying to prove: no compromise and payback."

Bloomberg has made sustainability a theme of his administration, and the Clinton Climate Initiative program, which works with cities to develop large scale energy efficiency programs, helped facilitate the project.

Using the Empire State Building as a test case and model, world-class environmental consulting, non-profit, design and construction partners -- including the Clinton Climate Initiative,Rocky Mountain Institute, Johnson Controls Inc. and Jones Lang LaSalle -- all got involved in this innovative process for analyzing and retrofitting existing structures for environmental sustainability.

Work has already commenced, and building systems work is slated to be completed by yearend 2010. The balance of the work in tenant spaces should be concluded by end of 2013. Work that is scheduled to be completed within 18 months will result in over 50 percent of the projected energy savings. The balance will be an additional 36months completed by 2013.

"In this distressed economic climate, there is a tremendous opportunity for cities and building owners to retrofit existing buildings to save money and save energy," said Clinton.

"I'm proud of the work my foundation's climate initiative has done with 40 of the world's largest cities, including New York where we played a central role in convening a unique set of partners that are working to make the Empire State Building retrofit project possible. It is this kind of innovative collaboration that is crucial to protecting our planet and gettingour economy up and running again," he noted.

(Xinhua News Agency April 7, 2009)