New York to Require New Green Building Standards
New York Gov. David A. Paterson recently signed a law mandating that all new government buildings in the state adhere to green building standards.
The State Green Building Construction Act, which will go into effect Aug. 27, 2010, requires all future construction and major renovation projects on New York state government buildings to follow new building standards set by the New York Office of General Services.
“The state of New York is committed to integrating sustainable design principles and energy efficiency into its building design and construction projects. The goal is an optimal balance of environmental, public and human benefits for meeting the state’s construction needs,” Paterson said.
New York's new law will require all new state government buildings to uphold green standards set by the New York Office of General Services. Photo: Flickr/kiki99
Though the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification system is the most well-known for green building standards, design professionals with the Office of General Services will have the task of crafting new guidelines.
According to Assemblywoman Donna Lupardo, the author of the bill and a member of the Environmental Conservation Committee, the new law will lead to the construction of more energy-efficient buildings. Consequently, it will save money for both businesses and taxpayers.
“The Green Building Construction Act will significantly reduce New York State’s use of energy, as our state buildings are among the biggest energy consumers. In addition, green building construction will help create new ‘green collar’ jobs and encourage the use and development of green technologies,” Lupardo said.
New York has utilized LEED certification in the past. Currently, they have 31 LEED-accredited design professionals, at least one of which is assigned to each new project. In addition, the governor’s mansion attained LEED-EB (Existing Building) gold status in February 2009.
Florida, Indiana, Maryland, New Jersey, Oklahoma and South Dakota are a few of the other states with similar laws already in place reports USA Today.
- (09/17/2009). "OGS Announces Upcoming Construction Opportunities" State of New York Office of General Services http://www.ogs.state.ny.us/aboutogs/pressreleases/2009/DNCConstOpps_20090917.pdf.
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Bill
posted on September 18th, 2009 at 1:57 pm
This is great news. It’s so good that the news about going green is getting out there and people are acting on it. I hope they will consider geothermal technology for heating and cooling buildings, it’s a great way to stay comfortable and stay green! For geothermal info visit my website
NY’s New Green Building Construction Act | Teaching Climate Change Law & Policy
posted on October 14th, 2009 at 7:02 am
[...] New York Governor David Paterson recently signed into legislation the State Green Building Construction Act. The Act amends previous green building legislation by affording the Office of General Services (“OGS”) the responsibility of promulgating rules and regulations that comply with green building standards. The bill had passed unanimously in the New York Assembly on June 10 and by a large margin of 55-2 in the state Senate on July 10. The Act requires new construction and substantial renovations of state facilities to comply with green building standards. [...]
Rachel
posted on February 23rd, 2010 at 5:20 am
I sure hope that from NY, every state will also start making green buildings, with or without the necessary building standards. I will surely be beneficial to people and the environment. Green products such as window tints would be a great idea in pursuing green buildings or even green homes and green cars. Green oriented sites such as http://www.TintBuyer.com discuss how window tints can be labeled as one of the most effective way to conserve energy consumption for less compared to other green related technology.