NYC Local Law 97 Compliance Consultants Services

NYC Local Law 97 Consultants: Your Guide To The Ultimate Compliance Solution

Welcome to NYC Local Law 97 Compliance Consultants, your trusted partner in navigating the complex world of energy efficiency and sustainability regulations in the heart of New York City.

Our mission is clear: to empower building owners, property managers, and businesses to meet the stringent requirements of Local Law 97 while simultaneously reducing energy consumption and cutting costs. We understand that compliance can be a daunting task, but with our expertise and guidance, it becomes a seamless journey.

With years of experience in the industry, our team of seasoned professionals is well-versed in the nuances of Local Law 97 and the broader sustainability landscape. We take pride in our commitment to staying up-to-date with the latest developments in regulations, incentives, and technologies. This ensures that we can offer you the most comprehensive and tailored solutions to align your property with the evolving standards.

At NYC Local Law 97 Compliance Consultants, we are more than just consultants; we are your dedicated partners. We work closely with you to create a customized compliance strategy that suits your unique needs and budget. Our services encompass energy audits, retrofit recommendations, permitting, and ongoing support to ensure you not only meet the requirements but also optimize your building’s energy performance.

What We Do

As a building owner, you must be aware of NY Local Law 97, enacted in 2019 by NYC, right? For those who don’t, it’s the city’s wide-scale approach to lower carbon emissions from NY buildings! A great regulation added to the City’s Climate Mobilization Act– NYC LL97 deploys carbon caps on several NYC buildings.

“What buildings?” “Is my building one of them?” “What exactly is NYC local law 97?” “What if I don’t comply?” Phew!

So many questions, but no one to guide? Our consultants are right here to help. We will guide you through the entire concept of New York City Local Law 97 and address how our consultants can help you with the best compliance solutions! So, let’s begin!

Learn What NY Local Law 97 Is From Our Experts

Let’s say your building size is over 25,000 sq. ft in NY. In that case, NY local law 97 mandates your building to reduce its greenhouse gas (carbon) emissions by 40% by 2030. The bill sets its long-term goal by the end of 2050, by which NY buildings must reduce this emission by 80%.

However, to ensure buildings comply with the law, it deploys a cap on the emission level. It enforces the cap and sets a deadline based on your building’s occupancy.

But what we want you to emphasize the most is its dates for compliance! It is 2024 (not so far) when the first cap commences. So, gear up to reduce emission levels if your building falls under the category of the ‘highest 20% of the emitting buildings.’ However, if your building falls under the category of the highest 75% of the emitting buildings,’ you have some time to work on it as the second cap will be applicable for such buildings in 2030.

Every year, your building must submit a report from qualified consultants like us detailing the building’s calculated limit and GHG emissions for the preceding year. Buildings that emit more than their calculated limitations will be fined. However, that won’t be an issue when you collaborate with us!

We know how the Office of Energy and Emissions Performance within the Department of Buildings (DOB) supervises the application of Local Law 97 and any upcoming building emissions-related legislation and works accordingly. With Local Law 97 explained, we now want you to note down some vital updates in this regulation.

NYC Local Law 97: Key Updates We Don’t Want You To Miss!

New digital maps have been uploaded to the website to clarify to the public which buildings must adhere to Local Law 97’s standards.
On December 29, 2022, the DOB made suggestions in the most recent Local Law 97 Advisory Board report that will help the city achieve its objectives. These recommendations include, among other things, calculating and reporting GHG emissions, optimizing reductions, and helping owners with compliance.
The DOB published a list of covered buildings, including all structures subject to Local Law 97 compliance requirements.
June 2022: NYC passed a budget that includes $2.4 million to help the DOB Office of Building Energy Emissions Performance oversee the implementation of Local Law 97.
October 5, 2021: Under Local Law 97, “energy utilized for charging vehicles won’t be incorporated into emissions from buildings, as such emissions are categorized as transportation sector emissions.” For the time being, this only applies to unidirectional EV chargers. They will eventually talk about bi-directional EV charges.
Local Law 97 guidelines and affordable housing options were published in October 2021.
The DOB expanded its website’s GHG Emissions Reporting page to include a reporting page to provide a more thorough explanation of the law.
On October 6, 2022, the DOB published their proposed rules for Local Law 97 to aid with queries about the law. A public hearing took place on 14th November 2022.

NYC Building Carbon Emission: When Does It Happen?

A building’s overall energy use across various fuel types, such as electricity, natural gas, or fuel oil, determines its carbon footprint. For each fuel type, the law specifies a “carbon coefficient” to indicate the carbon concentration. The total energy consumption of each fuel type multiplied by the relevant carbon coefficient yields the annual emissions of a structure. When the system becomes much cleaner, the electricity consumption will not produce much carbon.

In accordance with New York State’s aggressive mandates for the deployment of renewable energy, Local Law 97’s electricity carbon coefficient for the 2030 compliance era is almost 50% cleaner than the one allocated for 2024. As a result, reducing carbon emissions will depend on electrifying building systems like heat and hot water, which currently require fossil fuels.

Did LL97 Already Impact Your Building? Learn The Next Step!

Any building that New York Local Law 97 affects must submit an annual Greenhouse Gas Emission Report by May 2025. This will show how much the building can go beyond the set limitations, depending heavily on whether or not it will conform to the specific standards. It’s vital to submit this particular report every year in May without delay. This will need taking proactive measures in most impacted buildings to quickly cut these carbon emissions and better grasp your energy usage. We at NYC Local Law 97 Compliance Consultants are right here to help you prepare such a report within the deadline for compliance.

Knowing Your Building’s Carbon Penalty Using LL97 Calculator

Our consultants at NYC Local Law 97 Compliance Consultants leverage the best Local Law 97 Calculator to find out an estimated penalty you’re obligated to pay for your building’s carbon emissions.

To produce emissions thresholds and anticipated penalties for each compliance period, we either manually enter information or look for your building to upload benchmarking data. We use the best calculator engines optimized for Chrome, especially the ones that the Building Energy Exchange creates.

Here’s an overview of how our consultants harness the power of the best LL97 calculators to estimate your buildings’ carbon penalty:

We find your building to load building utility information or enter manually by
- Picking the occupancy type(s) and entering the location.
- Using the “Occupancy Type” option to add several occupancy types.
- Using square footage as described in Local Law 84 as an area input.
- Entering your building’s total annual fuel usage per fuel source.

Local Law 97 Fines and Penalties

According to the DOB’s Compliance page on their website, a structure that goes over the annual limits outlined in Local Law 97 “will be subject to a civil fine equivalent to the variance between the building emissions limit for that timeframe and the reported building emissions for that year.”

The DOB may elect to impose further breaches in addition to the civil fines for non-compliance, which will be published on their compliance page. Building owners who fail to declare their emissions will be subject to further sanctions and fines.

For around 57,000 buildings in New York City with over 25,000 sq. ft. of floor space and 10 building occupancy classifications, Local Law 97 establishes limits on the permitted emission intensity.

The metric tons of CO2e per square foot produced by your building’s energy consumption is compared to the specific Local Law 97 limit for your building’s occupancy category to determine these limits, which serve as the foundation for the fines imposed on NYC buildings.

The local law 97 penalties include a $268 fine against your building for each metric ton of CO2e (also known as GHG emissions) it emits over the city’s cap. For instance, your building would be subject to a $268,000.00 fine if it used 1,000 metric tons of CO2e more annually than allowed for its occupation category.

Stepping Forward To Clean Energy: How To Transform Your Buildings’ Carbon Emission Level

Even if initial compliance with NY Local Law 97 doesn’t start until 2024, it will require extensive preparation to put the essential renovations and changes into place for the necessary energy management. You will ultimately save time and hassle by starting the procedure immediately.

In its Advisory Board Report, published in December 2022, the DOB made recommendations for building owners. Ongoing guidance will give information on topics like retrofits and solutions for different building types. After that, every building has certain problems of its own, and engaging a specialist, such as our energy consultants, enables you to receive local law 97 compliance solutions that meet your particular requirements.

Benchmarking the building’s existing emissions is all you need to determine whether it might not comply with the law’s requirements by 2024 and can provide direction on what changes or enhancements the owner needs to make to comply. These changes include the temperature set points, fixing heating system leaks, insulating pipes, adding solar panels, upgrading HVAC systems, and switching to LED lighting.

Lastly, the government has produced some helpful tools to help building owners make any necessary adjustments. The Sustainability Help Center provides assistance in comprehending legal requirements, reporting specifications, and crucial dates and deadlines. The NYC Accelerator can provide financial and technical support, as well as help connect building owners with contractors.

How Our Consultants Want You To Proceed

Building owners’ difficulty is keeping their building’s emissions below the caps established by Local Law 97 of 2019. And we feel the fastest method to do this is to maximize the structure’s energy utilization.

The essentials to dealing with Local Law 97 include understanding how much energy your building needs, what sorts of energy it uses, how efficiently it uses those forms of energy, and how to discover the solutions that are accessible.

So, that’s the basics you must begin with when seeking assistance from an energy consultant. Early planning with our experts can greatly simplify decision-making and immediately improve outcomes.

How Can The Best LL97 Consultants Help?

A long-term energy and carbon reduction plan is an excellent investment because Local Law 97’s sanctions are significantly more severe than other comparable local regulations. This is where our Local Law 97 compliance consulting team at NYC Local Law 97 Compliance Consultants comes to your aid.

We help you curate a well-customized strategy specific to your facility’s requirements and determine the solutions available to minimize energy use, GHG emissions, and the resulting Local Law 97 fines for your building.

How We Ensure The Best Local Law 97 Compliance Solution

An engineer examines the structure’s mechanical components. The research is completed in 12 weeks with a thorough analysis of your building and suggestions for reducing emissions.
Together with your team, a roadmap is developed to assist your business in adhering to NYC LL97. Together with your team, a roadmap is developed to assist your business in adhering to NYC LL97. Once you’ve selected the projects, we may assist with engineering designs, project management, and utility incentive applications.

Through its software, we will assist you in keeping an eye on all of your utilities, including electricity, gas, emissions levels, and natural gas. An extremely user-friendly and basic program handles all of this.
You’re only one click away from always knowing what info you have! Most significantly, a long-term union! Your best interests are our only priority at NYC Local Law 97 Compliance Consultants. From energy audits and penalty assessments to installation costs and more, we take care of all your compliance needs.

FAQs About Local Law

Which NYC buildings are LL97 exempt?

Industrial structures whose primary means of energy production are steam or electricity may be included in the list of structures exempt from Local Law 97 requirements. Other exceptions include detached or semi-detached structures with a service area of no more than 25,000 square feet, three floors or less, and HVAC and hot water systems owned and maintained by the building owner.

How can I adhere to Local Law 97?

Beginning on May 1, 2025, building owners must submit a report on their building’s GHG emissions by that date every year, submitted by a qualified design expert. Buildings that are out of compliance—that is, those whose calculated emission limits are exceeded—will be fined.

How well does NYC comply with Local Law 97?

The rule targets around 50,000 properties larger than 25,000 square feet, some of the largest polluters in the city. So far, almost 90% of these structures are compliant for the upcoming year. A 40% reduction in emissions is required by the subsequent deadline of 2030. Zero emissions are the target by 2050.