“The success of the NYC Carbon Challenge is a powerful demonstration that New York City’s largest private and institutional sector organizations can work with the City toward a common goal of fighting climate change and creating a healthier and more sustainable place to live for all New Yorkers.” – Nilda Mesa, Director of the NYC Office of Sustainability

Earlier this week, Interim Director of the Office of Sustainability, Dianne Anderson spoke with a panel of sustainability professionals from institutions featured in the NYC Carbon Challenge Handbook for University and Hospitals.

The NYC Carbon Challenge was launched in 2007 to partner with private and institutional sector leaders to achieve significant greenhouse gas emissions from buildings. New York University is one of 17 participating universities, joined by 11 hospitals, 11 global companies and 18 residential property management firms, committed to reducing emissions by 30 percent or more over a ten year period. NYU committed to a 30% reduction based on 2006 levels by the year 2017. In 2012, we met that goal 5 year ahead of schedule. This year we set a new target for 50% emissions reduction by 2025.

Newly published, the Handbook for Universities and Hospitals serves to communicate best practices, provide a menu of solutions, highlight successful Carbon Challenge participants, make recommendations for deeper commitments to energy reduction and serve as a resource for other institutions.

As presented by Dianne Anderson, NYU’s Energy Fund is featured as a case study in the handbook’s chapter on Understanding Financial Options. The Energy Fund establishes a source of capital for energy efficiency projects separate from capital and operating budgets. This source ensures reliable funding for energy efficiency projects and has allowed the university to fund lighting retrofits, variable frequency drive installations, occupancy sensor based smart thermostats, and automated demand response measures.

Explore the handbook and see what institutions throughout New York City are doing to meet the goals of the NYC Carbon Challenge.