In December 2009, New York City (NYC) passed what experts regard as the most sweeping commercial building energy-efficiency legislation in the country.
Significantly, the Greener, Greater Buildings Plan obligates most facilities to undergo energy audits every 10 years and requires all commercial buildings with more than 50,000 square feet to annually benchmark and publicly report energy and water use. It also toughens energy-efficiency requirements for renovations and forces buildings to update lighting systems to more efficient technology.
NYC isn't the first jurisdiction to require buildings to benchmark energy use. California started the race in 2007, requiring benchmarking and limited disclosure beginning Jan. 1, 2010. But California only requires the information for the parties involved in a sale or lease of a facility. Washington, D.C. went further in 2008 by requiring phased-in public disclosure of energy use starting this year. NYC's 2009 legislation took another big step, mandating full compliance years ahead of the D.C. legislation for a far greater swath of building types.
Other jurisdictions are considering doing the same. On the heels of the NYC measure, Seattle passed its own energy-use benchmarking and disclosure law in January. As Seattle developed its benchmarking legislation, city officials kept tabs on what other jurisdictions were doing and collaborated with about 10 other jurisdictions that were also hashing out their own benchmarking initiatives, says Jayson Antonoff, sustainable infrastructure and green building policy advisor for the City of Seattle department of planning and development.
"Everyone should have it on their radar," Antonoff says. "I definitely see it becoming a national trend."
The NYC law could give a powerful impetus to that trend. With more than a million buildings spread across five boroughs, and a concentration of commercial high-rises unrivalled anywhere in the country, the city's action catalyzes energy benchmarking in the nation's largest real-estate market.
Benchmarking Law
The benchmarking and disclosure mandate has its roots in PlanNYC, an ambitious initiative that Mayor Bloomberg announced in 2007 to address all aspects of the city's aging infrastructure. Under PlanNYC, the city set a target of reducing greenhouse gas emissions 30% by 2030, from 2005 levels. The Greener, Greater Buildings Plan is an outgrowth of PlanNYC.
Under NYC's benchmarking law, Benchmarking Energy and Water Use, facilities have to disclose their energy utilization index (BTUs per year per square foot), water use per gross square foot, the Energy Star rating, and a year-to-year comparison of this data. For city-owned buildings larger than 10,000 square feet, annual benchmarking began May 1, 2010. Commercial facilities over 50,000 square feet must begin benchmarking May 1, 2011.
