New York City (NYC) has been qualified by its leadership in green construction and sustainability, not only in the United States but also worldwide. It is reflected by the laws (Local Laws 84, 85, 87, and 88) which were passed under the initiative like Greener, Greater Buildings Plan (GGBP) project in 2009, and the Climate Mobilization Act in 2019 started by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and by Mayor Bloomberg (former mayor of New York City) in 2009.

The NYC government stepped up and adopted a pack of local laws for large buildings with the sole purpose of reducing Green House Gas (GHG) emissions and fighting against climate change. For this cause, the New York government will keep making critical changes to help protect the city and prevent the worst effects of climate change.

It was reported that buildings in NYC are responsible for a huge amount of the city’s (nearly 70%) greenhouse gas emissions which proves the urgent need for the implementation of the above-mentioned local laws. All the required building owners will have to submit the corresponding energy and water consumption data of their respective buildings and if they fail to do so, it will result in certain penalties.

The requirements of these laws differ from each other and every building owner must know the particulars regarding them in detail such as what are the accurate demands of these laws, what are the deadlines, the number of penalties, and how to comply with them, etc.

It is one of the four laws introduced by the GGBP, commonly known as the Benchmarking Law. NYC Local Law 84 and Local Law 133 (LL84/LL133) require property managers and owners of buildings in New York City that are large to mid-size buildings (larger than 25,000 square feet) to submit the building’s energy and in some cases, water consumption data too, to the City of New York (US Environmental Protection Agency’s Energy Star Portfolio Manager) on an annual basis (on May 1st each year).

The recorded data should showcase the energy and water consumption of buildings including the details from all utility accounts along with addresses that are connected to your building including those for separately metered tenant spaces.

This law pertains to all the buildings in New York City that are greater than 25,000 square feet within five boroughs: Manhattan, Queens, Brooklyn, The Bronx, and Staten Island.

Originally, signed into law in 2009 as part of the Greener, Greater Buildings Plan, the law only applied to New York City buildings larger than 50,000 square, and was later amended in 2016 under Local Law 133 to cover all the NYC buildings larger than 25,000 square feet.

The report must contain the complete 12 months of utility data on a building’s electricity, natural gas, oil, and water consumption. Based on the given information, a building’s energy performance is evaluated and compared to the performance of other similar buildings in a benchmarking process.

It is the most effective way to measure energy performance and is frequently used when discussing a building’s energy management and sustainability reporting.

Energy benchmarking is a process of assessing and analyzing the use of energy and water of a building and then comparing it to the building’s past performance, and similar buildings at a certain standard.

The concept isn’t unique, in fact, the same technique you have been using in other areas of your business. For instance, you first evaluate and analyze something (like energy, process, action), and then, you compare it to something else (like standards and past performance).

When it comes to energy management, benchmarking specifically looks at a building’s energy and water consumption to make it easier for property and business owners to identify areas where efficiency is lacking so that they can act on opportunities for potential improvements.

There are many benchmarking tools available online like ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager depending on capabilities and cost, which allow users to measure their buildings energy usage against national standards of sustainability and efficiency.

It also helps clients, investors, and employees to know that you value the well-being of the planet and its inhabitants.

Your company can also reap the benefits such as increased control over energy use, improved operational performance, and the ability to manage energy costs.

Benchmarking works on two data sets, internal and external to give businesses and property owners the required essential information to make the right decisions on energy management.

The following are the benefits of compliance with NYC local law 84/133

• It helps in increasing the control over energy use.
• The ability to manage energy costs, and to improve profits.
• It gives you an opportunity to use internal and external data to develop or improve energy management, and operational performance, and acquire financing for energy efficiency projects.
• A chance to improve potential problematic infrastructure issues if a certain aspect of your building is not matching the efficiency standards. So, using that data and the information will allow you to fix the issues prior to a peak load time.
• Also, there are deadlines and penalties that can be avoided. If you fail to comply with LL84/LL133, then there will be consequences and you will have to face penalties. With every missed deadline, your penalty will increase. A Notice of Violation from the City of New York – Department of Buildings will be sent to you and you will be fined $500.
• The penalty structure for LL133 is similar to that of LL84. A penalty will be charged every 3 months and the amount of the fine can rise up to $2000 a year in case of non-compliance with the law.

An Accurate Energy Benchmarking Report can Help You Reduce your GHG Emissions by up to 35%! Take Action now and Prepare for NYC Local Law 97.

“The Greatest Return on Investment for Building Owners is Investing in Energy Efficiency”

CEO, The Cotocon Group