Press Release: BE-Ex Launches Training on Climate Mobilization Act and Affordable Housing
The Building Energy Exchange expands its popular training on the Climate Mobilization Act to include a version tailored to the affordable housing sector, demystifying its basic principles and providing actionable guidance to building decision makers of affordable housing.
The new one-hour training, supported by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), will educate the affordable housing sector on what their compliance obligations are and how to meet those obligations as the first compliance period of the CMA’s cornerstone law, Local Law 97, begins this year.
Building Energy Exchange (BE-Ex), New York City’s high-performance building center of excellence, announces the newest installment in its Climate Mobilization Act (CMA) educational training series: a training on the CMA and its impact on the affordable housing sector. This training will be offered in both live in-person and virtual on-demand formats and will educate building owners, managers, developers, and other stakeholders on the fundamentals of New York City climate policy and the CMA’s impact on the City’s affordable housing stock.
“This training adds a new and critical offering to our other building decarbonization resources at BE-Ex. We are excited to provide this unique training to affordable housing owners and managers and empower them to not only meet their compliance deadlines, reduce emissions, and increase efficiency, but also futureproof their buildings for an all-electric future,” said Richard Yancey, Executive Director, Building Energy Exchange.
“It is essential for affordable housing construction and real estate to understand the changing regulatory landscape to avoid fines and comply with Local Law 97. This training will provide necessary support to affordable housing property owners to understand their obligations and take meaningful steps to reduce carbon emissions from their properties,” said Gina Bocra, Chief Sustainability Officer, New York City Department of Buildings (DOB).
“We are pleased that this new training will educate our owners, managers, and builders on the requirements and strategies they must follow to decarbonize their affordable housing, connect them to the support and resources they need on energy efficiency and electrification, and promote the improved quality and affordability of housing for all New Yorkers.
The training is supported by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) and is geared towards professionals in the affordable housing sector, including property owners, developers, managers, and consultants (architects, engineers, and sustainability/energy specialists). While this training is focused on affordable housing, BE-Ex has also updated its original CMA training that is most relevant to stakeholders of market-rate commercial and multifamily buildings, which will also be available in both live and on-demand formats.
“This training will serve as a great tool for our members to continue accelerating the reduction of their greenhouse gas emissions in their affordable housing portfolio and encourage more sustainable development throughout the five boroughs,” said Zachary Steinberg, Senior Vice President of Policy, Real Estate Board of New York.
Laura Humphrey, Senior Director of Energy and Sustainability, L+M Development Partners said, “As developers, it is crucial that we build to meet the latest codes, technologies, and legislation, and this new training offering at Building Energy Exchange enables us to develop quality affordable housing that is innovative and responsive to evolving standards.”
The one-hour course is broken into four primary parts. Part 1, Climate Change in New York City, contextualizes the impacts of climate change in New York, highlighting the climate legislation that aims to mitigate these impacts. Part 2, Compliance Pathways, overviews the CMA’s building emissions limit law, Local Law 97, and the eligible building types under Article 320 and Article 321 of the law. Part 3, Compliance Requirements, outlines the compliance obligations, penalties, and opportunities to avoid fines defined in each of these sections of Local Law 97. A final section lists available resources to affordable housing project teams to help finance their energy efficiency and electrification upgrades.
“We are proud to have supported the development of this much-needed resource by BE-Ex to raise awareness and capacity for the affordable housing sector to comply with the Climate Mobilization Act. This training will better equip affordable housing stakeholders to expedite the transition to high performance buildings, distributing the benefits of electrification and efficiency more equitably to all New Yorkers.
The first live, in-person delivery of this affordable housing training will be delivered at Building Energy Exchange in downtown Manhattan on January 30.
The original CMA training for market-rate buildings is available online, via BE-Ex Ed, Building Energy Exchange’s on-demand e-learning platform.
These two CMA trainings are among a suite of resources in our Climate Mobilization Act Series, containing tools –including the widely used LL97 Carbon Emission Calculator– events, articles, and other written resources designed to demystify the CMA and connect our community with solutions. The training also follows the release of the related Decarbonization Roadmap for Multifamily Affordable Housing report, produced in partnership with the NYC Department of Housing Preservation & Development, the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, and Bright Power Inc., to help affordable housing project teams meet local climate objectives while improving tenant wellbeing.
The Building Energy Exchange (BE-Ex) is an independent non-profit organization dedicated to reducing the effects of climate change by improving the built environment. BE-Ex accelerates the transition to healthy, comfortable, and energy efficient buildings by serving as a resource and trusted expert to the building industry. BE-Ex creates educational programs, tools, and exhibits that connect building decision makers to everyday energy efficiency solutions and high-performance building technologies. Our downtown center of excellence provides inspirational and informative trainings, events, and exhibits that lead to action, creating a community of engaged leaders.
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Contact:
Hailey Moll
Senior Associate, Educational Resources
hm@be-exchange.org
646-512-8758