As we discussed in last week’s blog post, Intro 1253 will have operational and financial impacts on buildings throughout the five boroughs, in all sectors. As originally conceived, Intro 1253 targets buildings larger than 25,000 square feet and requires them to meet certain emissions caps beginning in 2022. The bill is set to be passed on Earth Day.

Carbon taxes are coming, and they’re coming fast!

Last week, the NYC City Council released an updated draft of Introduction 1253, a new bill that is likely to be passed into local law. If passed, this legislation will be the nation’s first legislative cap on carbon emissions. It is a part of NYC’s commitment to reduce greenhouse gases (GHGs) by 80% by 2050 (the 80x50 program).

Happy International Women’s Day from Gotham 360! As a WBE Certified Women-Owned Business, we take pride in uplifting women not only today or this month, but every day.

To continue our celebration of International Women’s Month, Gotham 360 would like to highlight some incredible organizations based in the Northeast that provide opportunities for women in the energy and sustainability industries. As a WBE Certified Women-Owned Business, we take pride in uplifting women not only today or this month, but every day.

Gotham 360 was very pleased to participate as a Bronze Level sponsor at the 2018 AASHE conference in Pittsburgh, PA. Our team joined sustainability leaders from across North America to exchange ideas, impacting transformative actions that are within sustainability, higher education and surrounding communities.

In July 2010, the Health Department began requiring restaurants in all five boroughs to post letter grades summarizing their sanitary inspection scores to help achieve three goals: 1) to inform the public about a restaurant's inspection results in a simple, accessible way; 2) to improve sanitary conditions and food safety practices in restaurants; and 3) to reduce illnesses associated with dining out.

Following suit, energy efficiency will soon be hitting the public eye.

Beginning in 2020, all buildings in NYC over 25,000 square feet will be required to post an energy grade in a highly conspicuous location, like the letter grades we are used to seeing at the entrance to restaurants. This development is mandated by Local Law 33 - designed to promote energy efficiency, and publicly shame those who do not board the efficiency bus.

Jennifer Kearney, Executive Partner of Gotham 360, spent the week of March 12 - 16, 2018, in Berlin, Germany as one of ten delegates from New York State for a special energy briefing and best practices exchange between New York and the nation of Germany.

After a successful inaugural delegation trip to Berlin in June 2017, the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy once again invited policy-makers, entrepreneurs, and energy experts from New York State to participate in a trip to Germany in March 2018.

Each year, Urban Green Council's annual conference tackles an issue or trend relevant to urban professionals in the green building sector. On Wednesday, October 4, the Gotham 360 team was happily present for the lively discussion on this year's theme: It's Electrifying!

The Gotham 360 team attended Greenbuild 2017 in Boston. Each year, Greenbuild brings together experts from all facets of sustainable buildings (and parking lots too!) for several days full of education sessions and an enormous expo hall.

Having several of our core staff at the conference meant that the team could split up and cover the various concurrent education sessions that were relevant to our clients within different industries - who hold different goals and face different roadblocks.

In October, the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE) held its annual conference, this year in San Antonio, Texas. Gotham 360 attended the conference to hear news from the Association, learn from and exchange ideas with other conference attendees, and stay on the forefront of campus sustainability solutions in order to best serve our higher education clients.

When I introduce myself as a program manager for an energy consulting company, whether at an energy-focused conference or to new acquaintances, I am frequently then asked: "what does that mean?" or "so, what do you do?" When I was first exposed to the nebulous world of energy consulting, I had the same questions. I soon found that it is not an easy question to answer, because there is so much to be done. And when someone asks what kinds of energy consulting Gotham 360 does, the least specific answer is the most accurate answer: "all kinds."

NYU Langone Medical Center received top honors as a water category finalist after participating in this year's 2016 ENERGY STAR National Building Competition: BOOTCAMP. The program encouraged organizations to cut energy and water waste through developing, instituting, and tracking energy and water-saving actions through the ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager®, the EPA's online measurement and tracking tool.

The Stevens Environmental Club (S.A.V.E.), the Entertainment Committee, Engineers for a Sustainable World, and the Student Faculty Alliance hosted an Earth Day Fair on April 26th as part of an entire week of Earth-related events, which included a beach clean up, sustainability panel discussion, and solar car build.

Many industries are just beginning to understand the impact of utilizing Incentive Management services, which can result in rebates and tax incentives for energy efficient programs and buildings. Gotham360 has partnered with countless organizations including universities, hospitals, and commercial property owners in an effort to take advantage of existing incentive programs.

The Board of Trustees of New York's Barnard College, a women's college affiliated with Columbia University, recently voted to divest from energy companies that deny climate change who are currently within the college's $286 million endowment.

Barnard students have pressed the college to establish a broad divestment pledge, a movement that in the last five years has grown to campuses across the country. Last year, a committee of Barnard trustees, faculty, and students endorsed a proposal that would divest from only fossil fuel companies that seek to deny climate science or thwart efforts to mitigate the impact of global warming.