Following the footsteps of Australia and the European Union, buildings in New York City will be graded based on their energy efficiency. The main goal is to reduce the GHG emissions of buildings, which account for two-thirds of the emissions of the city. By the beginning of 2020, mid-size and large buildings will be required to submit their annual energy consumption details. Further, they will have to post the grades allotted by the city based on the energy data.
The process would include the submission of energy-use statistics to an online portal developed by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).The tool will calculate greenhouse emissions by taking into account factors such as building type, number of occupants etc. The buildings will then submit their scores to the city, after which letter grades will be awarded. The grading spectrum will range from ‘A’ to ‘D’ with ‘A’ allotted to highly energy efficient buildings while ‘D’ will indicate energy guzzlers.