Resources

Local Law 97

Local Law 97 (LL97), part of the Climate Mobilization Act in New York City, requires buildings over 25,000 square feet to meet strict carbon emissions limits to reduce citywide emissions - about 70% of which come from buildings - by 40% by 2030 and 80% by 2050 (from 2005 levels).

Each building receives an annual emissions cap based on type and size, and exceeding it triggers fines of $268 per metric ton of CO₂e, potentially totaling millions for large properties.

Compliance strategies include energy efficiency retrofits, HVAC electrification, and renewable energy, while the law’s phased limits - initially modest (2024-2029) but much stricter after 2030 - have pushed owners, especially of older buildings, to invest heavily in decarbonization, making LL97 one of the most ambitious building-focused climate laws globally.

Local Law 95

Local Law 95 (LL95) works with NYC’s benchmarking and labeling rules to make energy efficiency grades easier to understand. It requires clear criteria for how benchmarked performance - including ENERGY STAR scores where a building receives one - maps to the letter grade shown on required entrance postings, so tenants and the public can interpret labels consistently across properties.

Together with Local Law 33 (what you must post) and Local Law 84 (annual reporting), LL95 helps lock in transparent score-to-grade translation. Owners still file usage data on schedule; the law’s emphasis is on predictable bands for the displayed grade, including outcomes when benchmarking is missing, when a property is exempt, or when it is outside ENERGY STAR coverage.

Local Law 33

Local Law 33 (LL33) adds public transparency on top of NYC’s energy benchmarking rules. Covered buildings that submit annual usage data under Local Law 84 must obtain an energy efficiency score and a posted letter grade (similar to a restaurant-style A through F scale) that summarizes performance relative to peers. The goal is to make efficiency visible to tenants, visitors, and buyers - not only to regulators.

The score and grade are derived from the same benchmarking ecosystem as ENERGY STAR and city reporting: when a property earns an ENERGY STAR score, that score feeds into NYC’s methodology for assigning the grade. Buildings that cannot receive a score still have reporting obligations and grade treatment spelled out in Department of Buildings rules. Owners must display the label near each public entrance, so compliance is about signage and timing, not just filing data once a year.

LL33 does not replace LL97; it complements carbon limits and penalties with market-facing disclosure. Poor grades can affect leasing conversations and asset reputation even before a non-compliance fine accrues under LL97, which is why many owners treat benchmarking, labeling, and decarbonization planning as one integrated workflow.