Building Performance Standards: NYC Local Law 97 Guide & Impact

Landmark Law of Building Performance Standards (BPS): LL97

The most aggressive and ambitious plans for reducing emissions comes from New York City, with Local Law 97. This law set the foundation for their goal of net zero building emissions by 2050. Seeing the biggest city in the nation introduce LL97 has kicked off a wave of such standards across the country.

There are currently over a dozen cities and states across the US, in addition to the federal government, that have adopted some form of building performance standards; which are used as a way to reduce carbon emissions and energy use in residential and commercial buildings.

Which states have BPS?

• Washington
• Oregon
• Colorado
• Maryland

Did you know?

Overview

Local Law 97 was included in the Climate Mobilization Act, passed by the City Council in April 2019 as part of the Mayor’s New York City Green New Deal. Under this law, most buildings over 25,000 square feet will be required to meet new energy efficiency and greenhouse gas emissions limits by 2024, with stricter limits coming into effect in 2030.

The goal is to reduce the emissions produced by the city’s largest buildings 40 percent by 2030 and 80 percent by 2050.

Penalties: An owner of a covered building who submits a report indicating that their building exceeded its annual building emissions limit will be liable for a civil penalty equal to the difference between the building emissions limit for that timeframe and the reported building emissions for that year.

When does it take effect?

May 1, 2025: First compliance report due for most covered buildings, including multifamily buildings with 35% or greater rent regulated units and houses of worship. The report reflects emissions in the calendar year 2024.

Who does it impact?

• Buildings that exceed 25,000 gross square feet;
• Two or more buildings on the same tax lot that together exceed 50,000 square feet;
• Two or more buildings owned by a condo association that are governed by the same board of managers and that together exceed 50,000 square feet.

Data collection, orchestration, analysis & reporting

• Ensure that all data relevant to Local Law 97 compliance is standardized and normalized. This makes the data maintain integrity and accuracy.
• Check for discrepancies, missing entries, and errors in the data to guarantee that it aligns with the reporting requirements outlined in LL97. Create data accuracy and variance reports to identify and address inaccuracies and variances in your energy and emissions data.

Data orchestration, reporting & sharing

• Data from all integrated systems and devices is made available for custom reports creation.
• Data-sharing is automated between KODE and other third-party platforms, helping you save time and report ESG data more accurately and efficiently.

Energy consumption & greenhouse gas (GHG) reports

• Create detailed energy consumption reports that can be generated on a monthly, quarterly, and annual basis.
• Energy consumption reports offer insights into your building’s energy usage patterns, helping you measure its performance and identify areas for improvement to meet LL97 energy efficiency goals.
• Our energy module assists in the collection and calculation of GHG emissions data, making it easier to compile and submit the required reports to city authorities as per Local Law 97 mandates.

Energy savings with FTT, FDD, and Energy Optimizations

• FTT you’re able to schedule tests for equipment functionality, and with FDD you can see a collection of events and alarms to be able to find areas to perform preventative maintenance and pinpoint issues in a building.
• Our Energy Optimizations use machine learning to determine how to turn on and off the systems without sacrificing comfort.
• It optimizes equipment performance, extends its lifetime, and conserves energy.

Real-time carbon emissions tracking

• Enable real-time tracking of carbon emissions from your building.
• Continuously collect and process data to calculate and report carbon emissions on an hourly basis. Bring in real time meter and utility bill data.
• This feature is critical for meeting Local Law 97’s requirements for monitoring and reducing carbon emissions.

Local Law 97 compliance monitoring

• Monitor your building’s emissions and energy consumption indefinitely.
• Track your building’s performance against the emissions limits set by Local Law 97, ensuring that you remain compliant over time.
• Alerts and notifications can be set up to prompt action if non-compliance is detected.

Occupant engagement & behavioral change

• Engage building occupants through user-friendly interfaces, dashboards, and mobile apps, providing real-time feedback on energy usage and emissions.
• Empower occupants to adopt energy-saving practices, reducing energy consumption and emissions at the individual level.