New York City's First Benchmarking Scores for Non-Residential Covered Properties

On September 4, 2012, New York City publicly posted the 2011 energy and water benchmarking results for non-residential properties covered under the benchmarking ordinance (Local Law 84). The list was updated on September 24th to account for discrepancies in building identification. Please make sure you are using the most up to date list. Also note that buildings were determined as non-residential by the New York City Department of Finance (DOF).

• View the City’s Non-Residential Disclosure List, posted on the Department of Finance website. Latest version dated 9/24/12
• View the definitions of the data disclosed
• Understand the significance of New York City’s public disclosure

Press

New York Times, December 24, 2012
Next American City, September 13, 2012
Environmental Leader, September 12, 2012
FierceEnergy, September 12, 2012
Eco-Structure, September 11, 2012
Institute for Market Transformation, September 10, 2012

New York City’s First Benchmarking Report for the Private Sector

The New York City Local Law 84 Benchmarking Report (August 2012) is the first analysis of New York City benchmarking data collected as part of Local Law 84, which requires all privately-owned properties with individual buildings over 50,000 square feet or with multiple buildings with a combined square footage over 100,000 square feet to annually measure and report their energy and water use. 

Nearly 1.8 billion square feet of built space, which is equal to the built areas of Boston and San Francisco combined, was benchmarked in this effort. This constitutes the largest collection of benchmarking data gathered for a single jurisdiction and documents the current state of energy consumption and performance in large buildings in New York City. This data will also help identify opportunities to gain efficiencies. Similar reports will be produced on the benchmarking data compiled in each of the coming two years.

To read the report, download New York City Local Law 84 Benchmarking Report (August 2012) (in PDF)

Read the City's press release:
August 3, 2012 - Mayor Bloomberg Releases First Benchmarking Report on Energy Use in New York City's Largest Buildings 

Press

HABITAT, September 25,2012
Metropolis, August 24, 2012
C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group, August 16, 2012
International Business Times, August 8, 2012
Inhabitat, August 7, 2012
SustainableBusiness.com, August 7, 2012
Next American City, August 6, 2012
Environmental Leader, August 6, 2012
New York Times, August 3, 2012 
Urban Green Council, August 3, 2012   
Institute for Market Transformation, August 3, 2012  
Building Green, August 3, 2012
Environmental Building News, August 1, 2012

Benchmarking Scores and Report for City Government

As part of the Greener, Greater Buildings Plan, the New York City Department of Citywide Administrative Services (DCAS) submitted 2010 and 2011 benchmark results for City buildings to the Department of Finance (DOF) for publication. Since 2009, DCAS has worked with 28 agencies to benchmark almost 3,000 buildings, including libraries, police stations, firehouses, schools, courthouses, health, community and family centers, and government offices.

Benchmarking measures the total electricity, natural gas, steam and fuel oil consumed in a building and adjusts for other factors so that the City can understand which facilities are operating inefficiently. This information allows the City to prioritize buildings for energy efficiency investments and to monitor building performance over time.

The City has published its benchmarking results for the 2011 calendar year. This report includes side-by-side comparisons between 2010 and 2011 for energy, ENERGY STAR rating, and greenhouse gas emissions. To view the City's second year of benchmarking results, download,
New York City Government Building Energy Benchmarking Results: 2010 and 2011 (in PDF).

To view the City's 2010 benchmarking results, download
Energy Benchmarking Report for New York City Municipal Buildings November 2011 (in PDF).

Benchmarking Reports from Academic Partners

Much of the analytical work of the benchmarking data was conducted by academic partners Dr. David Hsu, Assistant Professor in the Department of City and Regional Planning at the University of Pennsylvania, and by Dr. Constantine Kontokosta, Deputy Director of the New York University (NYU) Center for Urban Science and Progress (CUSP) and Founding Director of the NYU Schack Institute's Center for the Sustainable Built Environment. In addition to assisting the City write a more robust benchmark report, Dr. Hsu and Dr. Kontokosta also published their own reports.

To read Dr. Hsu's report, download City of New York LL84 Data Analysis & Quality Assessment (in PDF) (March 14, 2012).

To read Dr. Kontokosta's report, download Local Law 84 Energy Benchmarking Data Report to the New York City Mayor’s Office of Long-Term Planning and Sustainability (April 11, 2012).

Other LL84 Benchmarking Links
About LL84
Covered Buildings List (Buildings Required to Benchmark)
How to Comply
Energy and Water Data Collection
Where to Get Help