Sustainability
308 East 79th Street is committed to creating a healthy, clean and planet- sensitive environment for all who live and work here. The Board of Directors is launching the initiatives in the following categories:
- Improving Indoor Air Quality – The Board is monitoring the chemicals, coatings, paint and cleaning products that are being used in the building. Our goal is to reduce the amount of VOCs (volatile organic compounds) with products that perform the same or better!
- Reducing 308’s Carbon Footprint – 308 has converted from burning #6 fossil fuel heating oil to using biofuels. We are slowly increasing the concentration of biofuels with the goal of burning a 20% blend by next winter. This also makes 308 eligible for the Clean Heating Tax credit, which will save the cooperative some money while reducing the nitrous and sulfur emissions from our building.
- Improving Energy Efficiency – The Board is reaching out to ConEd to sign up for their free energy audit program so that we can identify the ways that 308 can conserve electricity. By maintaining a modern plant and converting to biofuels, 308 has improved the efficiency of its boiler and hot water heating system – our boilers are burning at lower temperatures with greater efficiency.
- Improving Water Usage - In addition to the current building policy of replacing flushometer toilets with 1.6 GPF tank toilets, the Board plans to survey and identify some manageable and attainable methods for further reduction of water usage, which will also impact our operating costs.
- Reduction of Waste - The Board is evaluating ways to streamline maintenance protocol and the reduction of waste generated at 308. Currently we are replacing the commercial cleaning products with low VOC, water based products that are delivered in concentrated form and mixed with water onsite. We are anticipating reducing the amount of plastic disposable containers by close to 65% with this initiative alone.
The Board at 308 East 79th Street is firmly committed to making our building – our home – a model of green, clean and healthy living on the Upper East Side. We welcome feedback and comments. Paul Miller, our Board President, is the chair of 308’s Green Committee – please direct inquiries and suggestions to info@308east79.com
Our Sustainability Partners
