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New York City’s dense urban environment, its mass public transit system and its extensive park system make it one of the most sustainable cities in the world. Combined with a large and diverse consumer market, an immense talent pool, entrepreneurial-minded industry and progressive sustainability policies, New York City has emerged as an ideal location for green companies to locate and grow.
Our Public Policies Are Green
On Earth Day 2007, Mayor Michael Bloomberg affirmed New York’s commitment to long-term sustainable development with the release of PlaNYC: A Greener, Greater New York. PlaNYC consists of a 127 initiatives that address the major challenges to the future of urban living, including the need for affordable housing; a renovated, expanded transit system; clean air, water, and land; cleaner, more reliable energy; ample open space; and climate change adaptation. These initiatives are intended to upgrade and modernize the City of New York’s infrastructure in order to improve the City’s quality of life, and support its environmental and economic sustainability.
To learn more about PlaNYC, go to the Mayor’s Office of Long-Term Planning and Sustainability.
One of PlaNYC’s overarching goals is to reduce the City’s greenhouse gas emissions by 30% by 2030. In an effort to “Lead By Example,” Mayor Bloomberg issued Executive Order 109 mandating the City to achieve a 30% greenhouse gas reduction for city government by 2017, twenty years ahead of what is called for in the private sector and develop a comprehensive plan to reach this target. On July 7, 2008, the Energy Conservation Steering Committee released its plan which requires an estimated $2.3 billion investment over the next nine years.
View the Energy Conservation Steering Committee’s Ten Year Plan
In 2005, the City passed a package of legislation which was the foundation for the Environmentally Preferable Purchasing (EPP) program. The EPP program focuses on the human health and environmental impact of goods and products purchased by the City.
Visit the EPP website for more information.
Our Buildings Are Becoming Green
Local Law 86, also known as the Green Building Law, was passed in December 2005 and became effective on January 1, 2007. The law recognizes the significant impact that building construction has on the urban environment and that there are benefits to designing and constructing buildings in a way that minimizes the use of energy, water and other natural resources. City construction projects costing more than $2 million are required to meet certain green building guidelines. Private construction projects that receive a significant amount of City capital dollars must also comply. The law is expected to impact more than $12 billion worth of city construction by 2017.
To find out more information about Local Law 86, please visit the Mayor’s Office of Environmental Coordination website.
To find out general information about green building and how Local Law 86 may apply to your project, download NYCEDC’s Green Building Handbook.
The Department of Buildings and over 400 volunteers from the construction and real estate industries, labor and government spent 300,000 hours to streamline and modernize New York City's 1968 Building and Electrical codes.
The new codes expand NYC’s fire safety requirements, structural integrity standards, and construction safety regulations. The updated codes also facilitate cost-effective building and encourage sustainable building practices by offering fee rebates for the use of renewable energy, water conservation, and achievement of LEED certification, in addition to other practices.
The new codes are part of the Model Code Program and are now subject to regular three-year revisions. The new codes have been effective as of July 1, 2008.
For more information on the new building codes, please visit the Department of Buildings website.
As of early 2008, more than 60 public building projects incorporating sustainable elements are in design, under construction or have been built, according to the New York City Department of Design and Construction.
For more information, visit the Office of Sustainable Design website.
As of July 2008, 24 LEED certified projects have been completed and over 240 LEED registered projects are in progress in New York City, according to the United States Green Building Council’s New York Chapter.
For more information on these projects, go to the US Green Building Council's New York Chapter website.
Our Transportation is Becoming Green
The New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission (TLC) has committed to requiring that, beginning October 1, 2008, all taxicabs coming into service (with the exception of accessible taxicabs) must be capable of achieving a city mileage rating of 25 miles per gallon (mpg). As of October 2009, all new taxicab vehicles must have a minimum city driving rating of 30 mpg.
To encourage bicycling as an environmentally friendly, healthy form of transportation, NYC’s Department of Transportation is installing bicycle lanes as part of a 200-lane-mile commitment. Beginning in 2006, the 3-year project has already installed over 80 lane-miles and completion of the City's 1,800-mile bicycle master plan is scheduled for 2030.
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