NYSERDA and HCR co-developed and launched a pilot called the Clean Energy Initiative ("CEI") program, which integrates technical assistance and clean energy funding through NYSERDA's support into HCR’s affordable housing finance application process. This panel will cover the collaboration, program design, opportunity for scaling, and lessons learned to date, as well as highlighting a project currently participating in the CEI program.

The triple bottom line of sustainability addresses the importance of environmental, social and economic considerations. It's something we all strive to achieve. That being said, the social aspect is often forgotten or overlooked, particularly in affordable housing. Very often, residents are spoken for and not included in the decision making process upfront. This session will highlight typical resident responses and concerns that we hear every day. It will also highlight new strategies that aim to improve interactions with residents, throughout the design process.

Combining Passive House and mass timber construction presents an opportunity to optimize both operational and embodied carbon. The exposed wood CLT structure and building envelope elements offer numerous benefits including interior aesthetics, a healthier indoor environment, reduced use of interior finish materials, and shorter construction duration. However, to date, most CLT multifamily developments have been boutique condominium projects.

Successful Passive House teams throughout North America follow an approach that, if replicated at scale, can reduce the energy load and carbon output of the built environment at the level needed to address climate change, while improving building quality. Effective scaling requires maintaining an integrated team from early design through construction completion. In this session, we will identify challenges in the Passive House process and share the details of a proven approach to integrating teams, which can be easily and repeatably implemented in projects of all sizes and types.

To comply with NYC Local Law 97, buildings will need guidance on how to implement capital measures that effectively reduce carbon emissions. However, even detailed energy studies can have unrealistic recommendations if engineering design considerations are neglected. Meanwhile, design engineers tend to focus more on system sufficiency instead of efficiency. Practitioners are tasked with narrowing this knowledge gap and identifying crucial details that could make or break a building’s ability to implement recommendations.

The session will describe the Empire Building Challenge (EBC) process and Resource Efficient Electrification, expanding on the recent BuildingEnergy Magazine article on the same topic. We will update our learnings based on the work conducted by Cohort 1 of the Empire Building Challenge, and we'll be able to announce Cohort 2, as well as examining the work conducted with that group of real estate owners and MEP engineers. We're excited to continue updating the NESEA community on these efforts.

Current pathways to carbon emission reductions are primarily driven through electrification of heating via heat pumps. Types of heat pump technology that are underutilized in the NYC area are ground source heat pumps (GSHP)/geothermal energy and other thermal networks. Heating and cooling from geothermal energy and other thermal networks are not novel technologies and have been used in urban areas in North America and Western Europe for some time. However, these systems are still facing barriers to adoption.

As part of the State of New York’s ambitions to achieve a carbon-neutral economy by mid-century, NYSERDA initiated the Buildings of Excellence (BOE) Design Competition for multifamily new construction and deep renovation projects. The results from the first two rounds of BOE awards give insight into achieving higher levels of building performance in terms of energy savings, carbon reductions, and other co-benefits. They provide data on how to manage costs, effectiveness of technology, etc. and offer replicable models for others to follow.

As we consider how to decarbonize affordable multifamily housing communities, it is imperative to establish market-based momentum that does not solely rely on regulations and subsidy programs that may change year to year. Panelists will discuss the financing tools available to support a market in which decarbonization is business as usual. They will also showcase a set of financing solutions, as well as culture shifts, enabling them to invest in climate solutions for disadvantaged communities.

A building operator and a board member will discuss the evolving role of operators and the importance of training and operations and maintenance (O&M). This session will also explore free training available for operators and ways management companies/employers can work with the 32BJ Training Fund. Speakers will describe ways the building community can help influence and support training and O&M to empower incumbent operators to move away from fossil fuels and be equipped for the challenges ahead.