“New federal actions today, in tandem with close state and local coordination, will accelerate progress towards reducing buildings emissions at all levels of government,” read a White House statement announcing the initiative. “When building performance standards are designed in partnership with frontline communities and key stakeholders, innovative and equitable solutions can address multiple needs in a community.”

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Today the Biden-Harris Administration announced the first-ever Federal Building Performance Standard, setting an ambitious goal to cut energy use and electrify equipment and appliances in 30 percent of the building space owned by the Federal government by 2030. Today’s actions are the latest step forward in pursuit of President Biden’s goal of achieving net-zero emissions in all Federal buildings by 2045.

As a complementary step, today the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced a proposed rulemaking to electrify new Federal buildings and Federal buildings undergoing major renovations. As the country’s single largest energy consumer and building manager, these new actions will save taxpayer dollars by reducing energy use while cutting millions of tons of greenhouse gas emissions, increasing resilience, strengthening U.S. energy independence, and growing the jobs of the future in America.

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Local Law 97 of 2019, passed by the City Council as part of Mayor Bill de Blasio’s Green New Deal, is an unprecedented commitment to increase the sustainability of buildings, the single-largest source of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in New York City. The law became effective on November 15, 2019.

Local Law 97 will further the goal of achieving a 40 percent reduction in aggregate greenhouse gas emissions from covered buildings by calendar year 2030 and an 80 percent reduction in citywide emissions by calendar year 2050.

A covered building means, with some exceptions, (i) a building that exceeds 25,000 gross square feet, or (ii) two or more buildings on the same tax lot that together exceed 50,000 gross square feet, or (iii) two or more buildings held in the condominium form of ownership that are governed by the same board of managers and that together exceed 50,000 gross square feet.

Further details regarding emissions limits, as well as information on buildings that are exempt from Local Law 97 requirements can be found below. Local Law 97 of 2019 was amended by Local Law 147 of 2019. The amended version of these laws can be reviewed in §28-320 of the Administrative Code.

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The study compares 100 GSA high-performance buildings to 100 GSA legacy stock buildings, looking at actual performance data in five key metrics over three years. High-performance buildings are defined as those that meet the Guiding Principles for Sustainable Federal Buildings, while legacy stock buildings are defined as those that do not. The Guiding Principles are a set of common performance goals for federal agencies to meet energy efficiency and sustainable design requirements.

Compared to legacy stock buildings, GSA’s high-performance buildings have:
• 23% lower energy use,
• 28% lower water use,
• 23% lower building operating expenses,
• 9% less waste landfilled, and
• Higher overall tenant satisfaction.

Energy and water savings are even greater when compared to industry benchmarks rather than GSA legacy stock buildings – 43% for energy and 35% for water. If the 100 legacy stock buildings in this study met the average performance rates of high-performance buildings, they could save taxpayers over $44 million per year.

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Buildings account for nearly 70% of greenhouse gas emissions in Boston. The 2021 amendment to BERDO gives the City authority to set emissions standards for large existing buildings. The emissions standards will decrease over time, with all buildings achieving net zero emissions by 2050. To learn more, read the full text of the legislation.

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