In thinking about what Gotham 360 would do to celebrate Earth Day this year we were reminded of how much has changed since last Earth Day, and how so much is still so different in regards to how we hold events and connect with one another. Throughout the last year, the pandemic has brought to light the overlap between environmental justice communities and the communities and populations hit hardest by the pandemic. We thought it only fitting to check in with some of our healthcare clients to hear their perspective on sustainability programming in hospitals, and how that has or hasn’t changed in the face of the pandemic.

Gotham 360 attended an event hosted by the Building Energy Exchange focused on Local Laws 92 and 94, that require solar and/or green roofs for all new constructions and major roof renovations. The laws were passed as a part of the Climate Mobilization Act (CMA). Thanks to these laws, NYC may now have the most sustainable roofing policy in the world.

Section 48 of the Internal Revenue Code currently includes a 30% ITC for solar PV systems, fuel cells, small wind and some other technologies. The ITC allows those who install clean energy assets to subtract 30% of the project(s) value from federal income taxes owed. This 30% ITC significantly raises the economic value of renewable and clean energy projects -- both those pursued through capital purchase and those financed through leases, power purchase agreements, shared savings agreements, etc.

The ConEdison natural gas moratorium, which began in Westchester has now been expanded to include Brooklyn and Queens. It is restricting residents and business owners from establishing new gas connections due to constraints on the grid. In response to the moratorium, end users are searching for (and being incentivized to use) alternative technologies that reduce their dependence on natural gas. One such technology is the heat pump.

The ConEdison natural gas moratorium went into effect on March 15, 2019, affecting many towns in southern and eastern Westchester. This means if you are a resident or business-owner in the affected areas of Westchester, you will not be able to establish a new gas connection until the moratorium is lifted.

On January 17, 2019 ConEdison announced a natural gas moratorium for the more populated, southern portion of Westchester County. The moratorium went into effect on March 15, 2019. This means that ConEd will no longer accept applications for new natural gas connections, in most of their Westchester service territory - until they can more closely align customer demand with available supply. Existing customers are not affected, but service to new customers is now limited.

The Gotham 360 team took a trip to Arlington, VA to attend the JBG Smith 2019 Greenfair and Education Program. Sean Mullen, Sarah Gilly, and Ashley Kossakowski represented Gotham 360 at this tradeshow-style event with over 40 vendors that service JBG Smith. JBG SMITH is an S&P 400 company that owns, operates, invests in and develops assets concentrated in leading urban infill submarkets in and around Washington, DC. Their mixed-use operating portfolio comprises approximately 19 million square feet of high-quality office, multifamily and retail assets.

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.

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.

Set to be one of the world's fastest growing energy consumers, the number of data centers continues to increase rapidly in conjunction with the constant growth of digital content, cloud, e-mail and internet traffic.

With 3 million data centers in the U.S. consuming 70 billion kilowatt-hours in 2014 alone, it's imperative for data centers to take steps towards offering energy efficiency services that focus on reducing energy consumption and lowering costs for industry users.

Data centers must meet the demands of both industries that are tasked with storing large amounts of information and the environment. By working with energy consultants, data centers can focus on reducing energy waste and employing new technology to ensure a successful and sustainable future.

Reducing Energy Waste and Adapting New Technology

Finding, managing, and de-commissioning comatose servers, 30% of which are estimated to exist due to their low visibility is the first step data centers must take to increase energy savings. Data centers can implement a four-step process of identifying underutilized servers that requires minimal effort. Through assessing their visibility, controlling their output, and automating workflow to drive efficiency, centers access immediate cost-energy savings, up to $500 per year, per server, while adding additional network capacity without expanding their footprint.

Data centers can also offer energy efficiency services by employing internet of things (IoT) technology. Facilities that deploy an incremental rollout of software that encompasses IoT to decrease energy costs, can see up to a 40% reduction in wasted energy and a 19% reduction in energy cost savings.

IoT technology creates a hyper-connected environment that allows facilities to be more responsive, dynamic, and capable of reducing excesses in energy-intensive data centers. Facilities that integrate sustainable energy optimization through IoT technology are able to collect, process, and analyze data that allows them to monitor and predict power and equipment failures, reducing wasted energy and increasing cost savings in the process.

As cloud devices and data storage remain popular and energy costs continue to rise, it's imperative for data centers to implement energy efficiency services and technologies that will lower costs and decrease waste. Reducing the number of comatose servers and integrating IoT technology are just two steps for energy-hungry data centers to implement in order to effectively and efficiently become more environmentally and fiscally sustainable