Four key opportunities to foster collaboration in commercial buildings to meet the law’s carbon limits
Original publication by Urban Green Council • July 24, 2024
In New York City, commercial tenants can drive 60 percent or more of a large building’s energy use and carbon emissions. But under Local Law 97 (LL97)—the city’s groundbreaking building performance standard—owners alone are responsible for hitting carbon emissions targets and are on the hook for penalties if they fail to do so.
At the request of the NYC Department of Buildings (DOB), Urban Green Council convened a LL97 Commercial Landlord and Tenant Forum to examine this challenge. Participating experts and stakeholders discussed ways to better align commercial landlord and tenant energy management to meet LL97 requirements.
With that expert input and Urban Green’s own research, we identified four priority opportunities to better align NYC commercial owners and tenants for meeting Local Law 97 targets, and shed light on a range of issues and recommendations for potential action within them. While some of the issues may be addressed by government action, many require broader engagement from industry associations, nonprofits and other entities.
Four opportunities to align commercial landlords and tenants for LL97 performance
- Educate tenants and promote voluntary engagement.
- Support market adaptation on commercial leases.
- Help owners and service providers navigate the data.
- Leverage related laws and regulations.
Special thanks to:
Related resources
Local Law 97
NYC’s groundbreaking climate legislation sets carbon emissions caps for large buildings starting in 2024.
LL97 in Focus: Jumpstarting multifamily building upgrades
Local Law 97 is set to drive 25,000 retrofit projects in 5,500 prewar low-rise buildings by 2030.