Unleashing the Potential of Green Building Codes in New York City

Image credit: Meironke via Flickr Creative Commons

New York City and the Urban Green Council have made a tall case for building codes as a key driver of urban environmental goals. The NYC Green Codes Task Force Report, presented earlier this week to Mayor Bloomberg and City Council speaker Christine C. Quinn, included 111 recommendations – some innovative, some common sense – to amend and update existing building codes in the City to incorporate environmental protection as a fundamental principle. If implemented, the code changes would drastically slash energy use and greenhouse gas emissions, reduce costs for building owners, and make buildings safer and healthier places in which to live and work. And one more: begin building-by-building adaptations for unavoidable climate impacts like sea-level rise and stifling summers.

The report brims with ideas and insight for other local government staff to consider. Take for example, the environmental strategy of manipulating building codes, rather than mandating LEED certification, as many other local governments have done. From the report’s executive summary:

New York chose not to mandate LEED for private construction (LEED is already a requirement for public construction in New York). Rather, LEED is intended as a leadership standard (after all, the “L” in LEED stands for Leadership), not a baseline; New York City leaders want to raise the baseline to achieve large-scale change.

Greening the codes has significant advantages over mandating LEED for the private sector. Codes create economies of scale in both expertise and materials, thereby lowering costs. Codes are also enforceable, and they build on existing institutions and industry practices. They can be tuned to the priorities and conditions of a particular jurisdiction. In addition, codes allow the city to correct market failures, such as split incentives; these include landlords who do not want to pay for improvements because the benefits would go to their tenants. Finally, codes help the City achieve social equity and environmental justice. By modifying codes and driving down costs, green buildings can be available to all.

Codes that “green” a building are defined in the report as those that fall into one of four categories: the environment, human health, operational savings, and the cost of construction. The 111 recommendations can serve as a mini-library of options for other local government staff to pull from for their own code initiatives. For example:

• Minimize air leakage through building exteriors
• Reduce summer heat with cool roofs
• Phase out toxic and inefficient light fixture components
• Reduce “red tape” for asbestos removal
• Build new homes to ENERGY STAR standard
• Reduce indoor air contaminants by limiting VOCs in adhesives, sealants, paints and coatings.

In a city where buildings account for approximately 80 percent of GHG emissions and 95 percent of energy consumption, you can imagine the impact that these measures would have if implemented by city council, especially since an overarching recommendation is to not exempt existing buildings from a revised green code. The reality is that most buildings in NYC right now are not even close to reaching their potential in terms of energy efficiency and environmental health.

A green building is synonymous with energy efficiency, but this report reminds us that a wider interpretation is in order, in line with the principles of sustainability (environment, economy, social equity). Green building codes can be used to help achieve goals across broad categories, from climate mitigation and now climate adaptation, to sustainable construction, public health, and social justice. America’s biggest city now has a panoramic vision for green buildings.

• Download the full report, executive summary, or draft cost and savings data here
• On the Urban Green website (local NYC USGBC chapter), take note of the stakeholders and authors involved; City of New York engaged in a very thorough process to develop these code recommendations with the help of leading experts.
  
• Visit the Playbook for Green Buildings + Neighborhoods for more insight and recommendations on green building policy levers
• Follow ICLEI's blog for updates on New York City’s progress with building codes. It’s now up to City government to approve and adopt these recommendations.