Arup is a global firm dedicated to sustainable development, and they recently answered a simple question: how much carbon could be saved by 2050 if New York City expanded the range of buildings eligible for office to residential conversions? On this episode of Urban Green Live, John Mandyck talked to David Farnsworth and Tess McNamara about Arup’s research and the impetus, from a sustainability perspective, for making more of NYC’s office buildings eligible for residential conversions. SPEAKERS: David Farnsworth, Principal, Americas Property Market Leader, Arup Tess McNamara, Senior Consultant, Climate & Sustainability, Arup John Mandyck, CEO, Urban Green Council RESOURCES: Arup's presentation slides

Ian Shapiro—founder and co-owner of Taitem Engineering and Professor of Practice (Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering) at Syracuse University—is one of New York’s leading experts on building electrification, having recently helped the City of Ithaca develop a local energy code that reduces carbon emissions by 80 percent in new buildings and will require fossil-fuel-free buildings starting in 2026. He joined us on Urban Green Live where we’ll talk to Ian about the building industry’s readiness to electrify and the challenges of growing the workforce and reducing construction costs. This wide-ranging discussion touched on everything from heat pumps to energy opportunities in New York State.

The Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTi) has helped provide companies with a clearly-defined and verified net zero pathway to reduce their emissions in alignment with the Paris Climate Agreement goals. And now, the SBTi is setting its sights on buildings—developing target setting methodologies, tools, and guidance for companies and stakeholders in the sector to set 1.5º aligned decarbonization targets. Karl Downey is a Senior Technical Manager for the SBTi, and is leading their Building Sector project. He joined Urban Green Live to discuss what the SBTi is and how it works, what makes it different from previous and existing standards, and the development and upcoming release of the Building Sector guidance.

The New York City Department of Buildings recently created the Bureau of Sustainability, led by newly appointed Deputy Commissioner for Sustainability Laura Popa, a former member of the Urban Green Council Board of Directors. DOB’s first-ever climate-focused bureau will direct the department’s sustainability and energy efficiency initiatives, including the implementation of LL97.   On December 15, we sat down with Laura to discuss the bureau’s work, its priorities for the coming months and what it all means for the buildings industry.

Healthy buildings are here to stay. So what's next? On November 10, we welcomed back Dr. Joe Allen, a leading voice influencing global healthy building design, to unpack his new book, Healthy Buildings: How Indoor Spaces Can Make You Sick—Or Keep You Well. Joe is an assistant professor at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and Director of the Harvard Healthy Buildings Program.  Joe discussed some highlights from the book, including how diseases spread indoors, the different ways building owners can create indoor spaces that keep occupants safe and healthy, and why healthy buildings are vital for sustainable urban centers.

Local Law 97 requires the City of New York to reduce emissions from its operations—including city-owned buildings—by 40 percent by 2025 and 50 percent by 2030. As the office that oversees NYC’s portfolio of buildings, the Department of Citywide Administrative Services (DCAS) will play a pivotal role in meeting these commitments. DCAS’s recently released Local Law 97 Implementation Action Plan outlines how the agency will lead NYC’s efforts to meet these targets over the next eight years and identifies a path beyond 2030 for the city’s buildings to comply with Local Law 97. This episode features Anthony Fiore, Deputy Commissioner for Energy Management at DCAS. Anthony joins Urban Green CEO John Mandyck to discuss the Implementation Action Plan and how the city plans to reduce emissions in its buildings.

New York Governor Kathy Hochul just proposed a bold 2022 climate agenda in her State of the State address. The measures she put forth include a code requiring zero onsite carbon in all new buildings, a new building electrification fund, doubling energy storage by 2030, achieving 2 million climate-friendly homes by 2030, investing $500 million to support offshore wind power, and much more. During this Urban Green Live Episode, John Mandyck takes us on a deep dive into this groundbreaking agenda with NYSERDA's President and CEO Doreen Harris, and Senior Vice President for Strategy and Market Development Janet Joseph.

On November 18, John chatted with Dana Gunders, an expert on food systems and one of the first people to raise the alarm about how much food goes unsold or uneaten across the country. They discussed food waste and its subsequent impacts on food security, the environment, and the economy. Dana Gunders is Executive Director of ReFED, a national nonprofit working to reduce food loss and waste by advancing data-driven solutions. Prior to her role at ReFED, Dana served as a Senior Scientist at the Natural Resources Defense Council, where she authored the landmark Wasted report about food waste and testified before Congress on the topic. She also launched the "Save The Food'' campaign with the Ad Council and wrote the popular Waste-Free Kitchen Handbook to provide consumers with easy-to-use strategies to reduce the amount of food that goes to waste in their homes. Dana has made a number of appearances in the media – including on PBS "NewsHour," "Last Week Tonight" with John Oliver, CNBC, and FOX News – and was called “the woman who helped start the waste-free movement” by Consumer Reports.

Listen to John’s conversation with Jeremy Shannon, Director of Sustainable Design and Resiliency at NYC School Construction Authority. They expand on innovative school sustainability strategies and the SCA's progress in shifting schools away from fossil fuels.

In this episode, the CEO of UK's Green Building Council, Julie Hirigoyen, discusses the issue of net zero carbon emissions.