Everything You Need to Know About NYC's Local Law 97
Key Takeaways:
New York’s Local Law 97 requires building owners to reduce emissions or face steep fines.
Nantum OS’ built-in emissions calculator makes complex calculations and compliance easy.
Starting in 2024, New York City buildings over 25,000 square feet will be subject to Local Law 97, requiring carbon reporting and capping emissions to meet the city’s ambitious climate goals by 2050. The new law aims to reduce carbon emissions produced by the city’s building stock by 40% by 2030 and 80% by 2050. Here’s what building owners and facility managers need to know before the law takes effect in 2024.
Who’s Affected
Local Law 97 impacts all buildings larger than 25,000 square feet, two or more buildings on the same tax lot exceeding 50,000 square feet, and two or more buildings owned by a condo association governed by the same board exceeding 50,000 square feet. That’s nearly 60% of all the city’s building area, roughly 3.15 billion square feet.
What’s Required
Local Law 97 requires eligible buildings to reduce carbon emissions by 40% by 2030 from a 2005 baseline. That’s roughly a 26% carbon cut from today. All buildings must submit a yearly emission report on May 1st, 2025, stamped by a registered design professional, registered architect, or professional engineer.
The law sets emission intensity limits based on 10 building categories based on building code occupancy groups: health, high hazard, assembly, mercantile, hotels, business, institutional, educational, multifamily, factory, storage, and utility/miscellaneous. Mixed-use buildings divided into different occupancy classifications must be calculated separately and totaled. In 2030, the law will expand to include additional property types and stricter carbon limits, but those rules have not yet been finalized.
Calculating a building’s carbon emission is as easy as multiplying the building’s square footage times its emission limit. For example, the 346,000 square foot Dominick SoHo hotel has a 2024 carbon emissions limit of 3,415,020 kilograms of carbon, calculated by multiplying 346,000 by 9.87. NYC’s Department of Buildings’ Greenhouse Gas Emission Reporting website can provide further details on adjustments and extensions for some income-related restricted housing.
Now you need to see your building's current emission intensity based on the most recent benchmarking submissions. Start by searching by borough-block-lot (BBL) number or type in your street address at Metered.nyc. Scroll down to the “GHG Emissions / sq.ft.” section highlighted in green. Multiply that emissions intensity by the building’s total square footage to determine the building’s annual carbon emissions for the applicable year.
In our example, The Dominick (246 Spring Street) is producing 10.4 kilograms of carbon emissions per square foot, putting the asset at 3,598,400 kilograms of carbon emitted every year. Allotted 3,415,020 kilograms of carbon, The Dominick is currently over its limit, producing 3,598,400 kilograms of carbon every year. Don’t worry if this all sounds too complicated, Nantum OS has an LL97 carbon emission calculator built-in.
If you’re not sure where to start after reading this article, NYC accelerator can help. The free service provided by the city will work with owners and asset managers to provide personalized advice for energy-efficiency upgrades that reduce carbon emissions. NYC Accelerator can answer questions this article doesn’t, point owners towards financial and technical assistance, connect with contractors, and find all the incentives a building is eligible for.
Transparency is an important first step. Installing real-time monitoring and automated building management systems can help visualize current emissions and energy load, showing which equipment or operational parameters can be improved.
Enforcement/Penalties
The law established a 16-member Climate Advisory Board that was appointed shortly after the law was passed in 2019. The Board created 8 climate working groups to further develop aspects of that law left up to rulemaking. The Department of Buildings created the new Office of Building Energy and Emissions Performance to help.
The penalty for being over carbon emission limits is $268/year/metric ton. If The Dominick has the same energy efficiency in 2024 as it does today, it will be 183,380 tons of carbon over its limit. Dividing by 2,000 to convert to metric tons, that puts the SoHo hotel at 91.69 metric tons of carbon over its allotted carbon limit. Each metric ton over resulting in a $268 fine, the owners of The Dominick would pay a $24,572.92 fine for its failure to comply every year it remains that far over the limit. Missing a report filing will result in a $0.50/sq.ft. fine every month until the report is received. Falsifying a report will result in a $500,00 fine and up to 30 days of jail time.
Insight
Climate activists have called Local Law 97 one of the largest single carbon reduction efforts ever undertaken. Building on previous benchmarking efforts, Local Law 97 adds serious financial penalties for heavy polluters, maxing out at $5 million annually. Building owners have fought back, saying even LEED Platinum buildings may have a hard time complying with the law because plug load demand fluctuates based on the tenant, but serious opposition efforts have not materialized.
Understanding a law that impacts so much of New York City’s built environment will be critical over the next 20 years. Local Law 97 is one of the first laws of its kind passed in the United States, giving New York a unique opportunity to once again lead the nation. Nantum OS was purpose-built to help property owners adapt. Knowing what the law means now gives owners and managers plenty of time to prepare for Local Law 97’s forthcoming implementation.
For more information, visit the Local Law 97 page on New York City’s official site.
