With Time & Life being the latest building to LEED the way at 1271 Avenue of the Americas, Cresciullo chalks up the designation to teamwork, tenant participation and a commitment to the environment.

“We think this is a big commitment for us, and a commitment that is very favorable to the tenants in our properties,” he says. “We are landlords and manage our own property and we feel going forward, we are their day-to-day. We see the response from our tenants and the clients, and it is something very beneficial for us as landlords, owners and operators.”

The 48-story, 2.1 million square-foot class A building, developed by the Rockefeller Group in partnership with Time Inc. and designed by Harrison Abramovitz & Harris, is a longtime staple in Rockefeller Center and New York City’s skyline. Nearly 100% occupied, the building is home to anchor tenant Time Inc., publisher of notable consumer magazines such as Time, Fortune, Sports Illustrated, InStyle, Money and others.

Cresciullo says there are many benefits of going through the LEED application process, between benchmarking energy efficiency and other building systems and then striving for improvements. The company has also received a $560,000 rebate from Con Edison toward the project.

While the initiative is still new, Rockefeller is already seeing between 3% to 6% in total energy savings – and in turn, tenants have also responded positively to the changes. “In fact, there are a lot of younger groups within our major tenancy at 1271,” he says. “The younger population is very concerned about it. They are happy that we are certified and working in a comfortable environment.”

Citywide, an analysis of Manhattan’s existing buildings with LEED certification shows a high concentration or larger office buildings accounting for a significant portion of the total. According to Rockefeller, at least 18 of the 37 total LEED-certified buildings are larger than one million square feet.

But there is still a long way to go. According to brokerage Cushman & Wakefield, there are more than 1,650 office buildings alone below 59th Street in Manhattan. However, Kevin R. Hackett, president and CEO of the Rockefeller Group, is confident that more will follow by example.

“[With LEED certification] we’re still in the very early stages of what will be the future of office buildings, and we’re committed to that future,” he says, in a statement.

In addition to 1271 Avenue of the Americas, Rockefeller also owns the 2.7-million-square-foot, LEED-certified 1221 Avenue of the Americas.