Ithaca 2030 District

Growth & Progress in the Ithaca 2030 District

/ Peter Bardaglio / Leave a comment

The Ithaca 2030 District recently released its third annual progress report. As the report shows, the Ithaca 2030 District in 2021 once again surpassed the 2020 reduction target for energy and, for the first time, went beyond the 2030 target for water.

Buildings make up 73% of the greenhouse gas emissions in the City of Ithaca, with commercial buildings accounting for 48 percent, so achieving the city-wide goal of carbon neutrality by 2030 depends in great measure on dramatically reducing the carbon footprint of our buildings.

The flagship program of TCCPI, the Ithaca 2030 District is a voluntary effort by property owners and tenants to improve the energy and water performance of their buildings as well as to bring about cuts in commuter transportation emissions.

District property members, by committing to the goals of the 2030 District, are not only having a positive effect on the environment; they are also saving money on utility costs, improving the well-being of those who live and work in their buildings, and stimulating the local economy.

The Ithaca 2030 District has grown considerably in the last 16 months, due in part to the reopening of downtown as well as the excitement generated by the City’s building decarbonization campaign.

Currently, there are 30 commercial property owners, 40 buildings, and 522,375 square feet of committed space, compared to 25 property members, 29 buildings, and 375,371 square feet at the end of 2020. This annual report focused on the 27 property members, 33 buildings, and 417,089 square feet that belonged to the District for most of 2021.

The District reduced its energy consumption by 21.8% from the baseline. In addition, it realized savings of 51.4% in water use. The one area where the District lost ground was commuter transportation emissions. The increase in driving to work in 2021 as downtown reopened, along with a decline in the number of remote workers, resulted in a rise in transportation emissions to a level well above the 2020 target, even exceeding the level of emissions generated before the onset of the pandemic in 2020. Clearly, commuter emissions will be a major area of concern as the City of Ithaca works to achieve its goal of community-wide carbon neutrality by 2030.

Besides the annual district-level report, each of the property members is provided access to a confidential interactive, online dashboard that measures the energy and water performance of their individual buildings. These dashboards are regularly updated so that building owners and tenants can monitor their progress towards the individual 2025 and 2030 energy and water targets.

Check out the full 2021 report for details about the growth and progress of the Ithaca 2030 District.

NYC’s Climate Mobilization Act

/ Peter Bardaglio / Leave a comment

As the City of Ithaca considers possible next steps on climate action, it would do well to look downstate for inspiration. On April 18 the New York City Council passed a sweeping “Climate Mobilization Act” to fight climate change, a package of seven bills that supporters said would help build a “Green New Deal for New York City.” The legislation passed by a 45-2 vote.
Midtown Manhattan. Photo by Andreas Komodromos licensed under CC BY-2.0.
The centerpiece of the package requires buildings over 25,000 square feet to cut climate emissions 40% by 2030 and more than 80% by 2050, which officials said is “the most ambitious energy efficiency legislation in the country.” In addition, the legislation:
  • Requires green roofs, solar panels, and/or small wind turbines on certain buildings
  • Establishes a renewable energy and energy efficiency loan program
  • Streamlines the application and siting process for wind turbine installation across the city
  • Orders the city to carry out a study on the feasibility of closing its 24 oil- and gas-fired power plants and replacing them with energy storage and renewable power

“This legislation will radically change the energy footprint of the built environment and will pay off in the long run with energy costs expected to rise and new business opportunities that will be generated by this forward thinking and radical policy,” said Timur Dogan, an architect and building scientist at Cornell University.

As the New York Times observed in its coverage of the story, “Buildings are among the biggest sources of greenhouse gas emissions because they use lots of energy for heating, cooling and lighting, and they tend to be inefficient, leaking heat in the winter and cool air in the summer through old windows or inadequate insulation.” An inventory published in 2017 of greenhouse gas emissions in New York City found that buildings accounted for two-thirds of the city’s overall emissions.

It is for this very reason that TCCPI moved in 2016 to establish the Ithaca 2030 District as its new flagship program, joining a network of 22 cities in North America seeking to improve the energy and water performance of their downtown commercial buildings. Currently, the network has 493 million square feet committed. New York City is in the process of also establishing a 2030 District in Downtown Brooklyn and Lower Manhattan, and it should soon be up and running.

The Ithaca Green Building Policy marks a significant step towards encouraging new development projects to become more environmentally sensitive. As the policy enters the process of codification, however, it is important to remember that the overwhelming majority of commercial construction in the city is made up of already existing buildings. How does Ithaca intend to address this issue? The Climate Mobilization Act just passed by the New York City Council points the way.