NEW ORLEANS — The City of New Orleans today announced it has joined state and local governments across the country in the National Building Performance Standard (BPS) Coalition, a collaboration launched in January 2022 by the White House Council on Environmental Quality. Coalition members are committed to create and implement energy efficiency standards for large buildings across their jurisdictions, driving investment into building improvements and quality jobs that create healthier buildings and lower housing and energy costs.
“As we work to become a more sustainable city, we need to ensure that our buildings are efficient and affordable for our residents,” said Mayor LaToya Cantrell. “Joining the National Building Performance Standards Coalition aligns with our City’s updated Climate Action Plan released last December, which includes net-zero emissions by 2050 and increasing renewable energy. Energy efficiency is a top goal of my administration, and we look forward to working with the Biden administration, our fellow cities and top experts in the field to achieve measurable results.”
“We are thrilled by New Orleans’ leadership on climate as the city joins 40 leading localities and states across the U.S. who are now part of President Biden’s National Building Performance Standards Coalition,” said White House National Climate Advisor Ali Zaidi. “By stepping up, New Orleans is leading the way on cutting both consumer energy bills and harmful climate pollution. Upgrading the City’s existing buildings will also mean improved resiliency — an ability to better weather the next storm, all while creating good paying jobs.”
Building performance standards are state and local laws that require existing buildings to achieve minimum levels of energy or climate performance. In joining the coalition, New Orleans is committing to a robust local stakeholder engagement process to co-create building performance standards and complementary policies and programs. Along with energy codes, these policies allow communities to reach energy and equity goals through accelerated retrofits.
“With New Orleans joining the National BPS Coalition, we will have more representation from Southern jurisdictions and from Coastal communities that experience climate change first and worst,” said Institute for Market Transformation Executive Director Lotte Schlegel. “Nearly half of low-income households in the city pay above 9.8 percent of income toward energy bills, and a quarter pay more than 18.9 percent. And, New Orleans will provide new models for localities to lead on climate action. In particular, the City’s regulation of its electric and gas utility will offer a unique opportunity to see what is possible when government and utility align their goals for equitable climate action.”
In 2018, the City launched the NOLA Energy Challenge with the Downtown Development District to encourage large buildings to track, or “benchmark,” their energy use and take steps to reduce it. Since 2018, the City has made significant progress reducing energy use in its own buildings, implementing 38 energy efficiency projects at City buildings, which decreased overall energy use by 23 percent. To build on these successes, the Office of Resilience and Sustainability is seeking added staff capacity to lead BPS efforts on behalf of the City.
“Joining the BPS Coalition is an important step towards achieving our Net Zero goals,” said City of New Orleans Deputy Chief Resilience Officer Greg Nichols. “The City has made progress on reducing our carbon footprint within our own buildings, and we’re eager to work with local stakeholders and the City Council to equitably design legislation and programs that will reduce energy use, increase energy affordability and improve indoor air quality in large buildings across the city.”
Buildings are the largest contributor to greenhouse gas emissions in the United States, representing 35 percent of total energy-related emissions. Louisiana recently adopted updated building energy codes, but those standards will only apply to new construction and major renovations. The City’s updated Climate Action Plan sets the goal of working with the City Council to approve building performance standards in commercial and multi-family buildings by 2024.
“Joining the Biden Administration’s building performance standards coalition is an encouraging move towards putting the City in a leadership position in climate and equity,” said City Council Vice President Helena Moreno. “When we passed the LEED gold requirements for city buildings last year, the City made an affirmative step in the direction of real climate-conscious efficiency. Joining the President’s national BPS coalition is a welcome initiative.”
New Orleans joins over 40 jurisdictions who have joined the coalition so far, including southern cities such as Atlanta, Savannah and Orlando. As a member of the National BPS Coalition, New Orleans will be able to leverage technical support from federal agencies including the Department of Energy and the Environmental Protection Agency. For more information about the coalition, visit www.nationalBPSCoalition.org.
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