Why NYC property owners are worried about
Local Law 97

As part of the Climate Mobilization Act, an ambitious plan to combat global warming, NYC has identified over 57,000 rather ancient buildings as chief culprits, responsible for 71% of the city’s carbon emissions. These emissions, also known as greenhouse gas (Ghg) emissions, come from the burning of fossil fuels.

If you’re required to benchmark your energy usage, you’re also subject to Local Law 97. You can check if the addresses are listed on the NYC Covered Buildings List. Sometimes buildings are listed there by error and we’re able to have them removed from the list.

Buildings use several forms of energy, including electricity, natural gas, and types of fuel oil. Carbon emissions come primarily from burning fossil fuels. Different types of fuels emit different levels of carbon.

Calculating a building’s total carbon emissions can be a bit complicated.
To see a building’s annual emissions intensity based on the most recent benchmarking submissions, search by borough-block-lot (BBL) number or type in your street address at Metered.nyc. You’ll see “GHG Emissions / sq.ft.” highlighted in green. To determine annual carbon emissions for the applicable year, multiply that emissions intensity by a building’s total square footage.

Then, you can calculate the building’s total emissions. This depends on an “emissions factor” applied to each source of energy (e.g. natural gas, electricity or district steam) based on its associated carbon pollution. You can find updated “emissions factors” for various types of energy on Portfolio Manager, the city’s tool for energy legislation compliance. If all this seems complicated, don’t worry. We can work out the numbers fo ryo and show you how you can reduce the numbers to acceptable levels.

The amount of energy your tenants consume has a huge impact on your building’s overall energy use. Increasing your building's energy benchmark to comply with LL 97 will only be possible with collaboration from your tenants. Offering them incentives to make their spaces energy efficient is a good way to bring down your building’s overall energy usage and aids you in complying with LL 97.

By May 1st, 2025, you’ll need to submit a report showing your carbon emissions for the previous year of 2024. The reporting must be done annually, by a registered professional.

About 20% of the city’s carbon emitting buildings will not meet the 2025 limits unless they implement changes speedily. The other 80% of affected buildings will need to reduce emissions by 2029.
There are lots of ways to lower emissions. But if you fail to plan, you must plan to pay.

Your report is filed based on your 2024 usage so energy upgrades need to be completed before the end of 2023. As you know, wheels turn very slowly in the commercial real estate industry. Identifying problems, planning and implementation are a multi-step process, so it's wise to start now.

The 2025 deadline will impact only 20% of the buildings who need to comply with Local Law 97, those that currently have the highest carbon emissions. When the cap is lowered in 2029, those same buildings will need to prove that they’ve further reduced their emissions, along with the remaining 80% of NYC buildings that are currently above those levels.

By May 1st 2025, you must submit an annual report, in addition to the benchmarking report you have been filing to comply with Local Law 84. Buildings must pay a penalty of $268 per metric ton that their carbon footprint exceeds the limit, annually. You will also be fined for not submitting a report or for submitting a false report.

The law includes some flexibility for specific cases:

• Possible Exemptions
  Buildings that cannot meet the target carbon emissions levels and are in specific categories, such as affordable housing, houses of worship, hospitals or city-owned buildings, will have alternative compliance options. Showing that you are taking steps to follow the 13 prescriptive measures will allow you to avoid fines even if you are above your limits. The Department of Buildings will also have the authority to grant exemptions in specific cases of financial hardships or practical constraints (like lack of access to leased areas).
• Credit Transfers and Purchases
  Your building portfolio will be assessed as a whole. High energy efficiency in one building will earn you credits towards your buildings that have lower ratings. You may also purchase renewable energy credits generated in NYC.

You’ll be fully exempt if your emissions levels in 2025 meet the requirements for 2030. You’ll still need to get certified by a registered design professional.

The most effective way to reduce a building’s carbon emissions is to work on saving energy. An inexpensive first step is training building staff on energy efficiency best practices. Operational changes to equipment schedules, thermostat set points and other characteristics can reduce energy use without added cost. To determine where the energy usage is higher than it should be, we recommend installing EZ Sense sensors.

EZ Sense are EZ Energy trademarked cutting-edge sensors that we use to monitor energy usage across your building. They pick up the exact apartments, appliances or installations with high energy usage so we can hone in on those areas and effectively improve your energy efficiency rating.

There are incentives and grants for upgrades that you can take advantage of to lower your energy usage.

EZ Energy also offers full financing to cover your upgrades with unsecured loans. No personal guarantee, no UCC and no lien needed. You then pay the loan back once your building starts saving on their energy bills. It’s EME, efficiency made easy, at its finest.

PACE is a NYC financing mechanism providing loans to property owners to fund energy efficiency upgrades.

To date, very few buildings have been approved for PACE loans, due to a complex application process.

EZ Energy’s secure loans make it easier and faster to get accepted with no bank approval needed. We take care of the loan application for you.