Environmental Initiatives in Real Estate Development

The Port Authority's Real Estate and Development agenda includes a number of programs that support the Agency's commitment to fostering sustainable regional economic growth.

Green Buildings

All of the Agency's new development projects are designed to achieve LEED certification and all buildings constructed at the WTC site will be built to LEED Gold standards. In addition:

Recycled content building materials, including sustainably harvested wood, are being utilized
Construction debris is recycled
Construction vehicles use ultra-low sulfur diesel fuels and particulate filters

Portfields

This partnership between the Port Authority and the New Jersey Economic Development Authority helps developers, communities and others to transform underused and Brownfield sites into profitable warehousing and distribution centers.

This "infill" development reduces demand for previously undeveloped open space (such as farmland) and promotes business development near existing uses and transportation networks, reducing vehicular pollution.

Remediation of brownfields also permanently removes harmful contamination from our local soils, improving local health and reducing long-term environmental impact (such as toxic run-off from brownfields into local waterways).

Emissions Reductions

A new specification in Port Authority construction contracts reduces air pollutants and greenhouse gas emissions from non-road diesel-powered construction equipment. The specification requires the use of ultra-low sulfur diesel, the retrofit of equipment of 50 horsepower or more, and a three-minute idling limit.

Construction Debris Recycling

Port Authority contracts require the recycling of at least 75 percent of selected construction and demolition waste (asphalt, concrete, steel, non-hazardous soil) by weight. Contractors must submit a recycling plan that details how the waste will be reused or recycled.

Essex County Resource Recovery

The Port Authority operates New Jersey's largest waste-to-energy plant, converting solid waste into approximately 500 million kilowatts of electricity a year.