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As the race toward carbon neutrality accelerates, cities across the U.S. are leading the charge with aggressive energy policies and innovative building standards. A recent audit by the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE) shines a spotlight on these efforts, evaluating how cities tackle energy efficiency through key components like:
- Community-Wide Initiatives
- Building Policies
- Transportation Policies
- Community Energy Infrastructure
- Local Government Operations
According to ACEEE, these metrics not only reflect policy best practices but also address social equity and the growing need for cities to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. While all of these metrics are essential for understanding a city's approach to sustainability, we’ve chosen to focus on two key areas—building policies and community energy infrastructure—as they are most relevant to our clients in the building decarbonization space. These categories specifically highlight the clean energy initiatives and progressive policies that help push cities toward carbon neutrality, directly impacting the future of energy-efficient buildings.
How the rankings work
State policies play a significant role in shaping city scores. Factors such as renewable building codes, EV infrastructure, and benchmarking policies for improving building energy performance positively impact ratings. Conversely, states with laws that limit cities' ability to implement certain policies and programs receive lower scores.
California, a long-time leader in clean energy action, leads the list due to its progressive adoption of building energy benchmarking, EV charging infrastructure requirements, a commitment to zero-emission public transit by 2040, higher residential density allowances, and solar-ready building mandates. In contrast, cities in states like Minnesota face more challenges, relying on city-level initiatives to drive sustainable action.
Scores are determined based on the effectiveness and feasibility of each policy, with higher points awarded to initiatives that achieve measurable energy efficiency improvements and demonstrate scalability and long-term impact.
Emphasis on the full scorecard is directed towards building and transportation policies based on effectiveness. Page 12
The graphic above provides a breakdown of the energy efficiency scorecard, highlighting different categories that contribute to a city's overall performance, from building policies to community-wide initiatives.
The size of each box indicates its weight in the overall score. For instance, building and transportation policies are important due to their influence on city energy efficiency. Within the building policies category, factors like policies for existing buildings, energy code adoption, and compliance are key in shaping city rankings.
As stated, this analysis focuses on building policies and community energy infrastructure, as they contain the most relevant criteria for energy efficiency efforts within buildings. While many cities were analyzed in the study, we will focus on two key leaders in building energy initiatives: New York City and Boston. These cities exemplify how strong building policies and clean energy efforts are driving emissions reductions and sustainability.
NYC and Boston: A Comparison of Leading Building Energy Policies
New York: Buildings Policies Score: 52.5/70, Community Energy Infrastructure 29.5/40
New York leads the way in building energy policies by adopting the 2020 NYC Energy Conservation Code (NYCECC), which includes numerous updated mandates for new builds and retrofits. In addition, the city has implemented stringent energy reduction measures for existing buildings. New York’s comprehensive approach includes performance standards, benchmarking, lighting retrofits, and workforce development programs to improve energy efficiency across the board.
Utilities like ConEd and National Grid NY are pivotal in delivering high energy efficiency savings, particularly for low-income customers, with support from the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA). New York City's active participation in utility rate cases and its advocacy for clean energy solutions reflect its commitment to transitioning towards 100% carbon-free energy by 2040, making it a leader in building decarbonization and sustainable urban development.
New York City’s Local Law 97 (LL97) is a landmark initiative to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from buildings over 25,000 square feet. LL97 is designed to achieve ambitious emissions reductions, targeting a 40% decrease by 2030 and net-zero emissions by 2050. The law takes a graduated approach, allowing building owners to progressively reduce emissions in phases. Penalties for non-compliance, however, are significant. Upon implementing each city’s penalty phase, building owners would be fined $268 for each ton of carbon emitted over the building limit under NYC’s LL97.
Incorporating geothermal heating and cooling systems and other clean energy solutions will play a key role in helping building owners meet the stringent requirements of LL97. The city’s focus on clean energy infrastructure ensures that building owners can access the tools and incentives necessary to reduce their carbon footprint and meet the law's goals.
Boston: Buildings Policies Score: 29/70,
Community Energy Infrastructure Score: 31.5/40
Boston is a leader in community energy infrastructure, earning high marks due to its low-income energy efficiency programs and the Renew Boston Trust, which promotes utility-sponsored clean energy and energy efficiency efforts. Eversource, one of the city's key utilities, aims to achieve carbon neutrality by 2030, aligning with Boston’s broader clean energy objectives.
Similar to New York’s Local Law 97 (LL97), Boston’s Building Emissions Reduction and Disclosure Ordinance (BERDO), a critical regulation not highlighted in the ACEEE guide, mandates significant emissions reductions for the city's largest buildings. BERDO directly supports Boston’s building energy policies by requiring these buildings to reach net-zero emissions by 2050, positioning the city as a frontrunner in the push for building decarbonization and geothermal heating and cooling solutions. Also similar to LL97, these mandates have deadlines and will charge $1,000 daily for non-compliance after 2025 or 2030 (depending on building size).
Did you know that Brightcore’s own Tracey Ogden worked on implementing geothermal heating and cooling systems in Boston University’s Jenga Building?
Looking Ahead: Embracing Building Decarbonization and Clean Energy Solutions
As cities like New York and Boston continue to set the standard for building energy policies and emissions reduction initiatives, it’s clear that the path to net-zero emissions will require bold action and innovative solutions. From stringent regulations like LL97 to the implementation of geothermal heating and cooling systems, these cities are leading the charge in creating more sustainable urban environments. To learn more about the leading cities in clean energy initiatives, check out the full report from the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE).
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