Buildings contribute to over 70 percent of greenhouse gas emissions in New York City, and 38 percent globally. This podcast will introduce you to people who are advancing the reality of healthy, resilient, and equitable low-carbon solutions that help solve climate change bit by bit.
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In this episode of "Building Tomorrow," we delve into New York State's ambitious climate goals and the pivotal role buildings play in achieving them. New data analysis from Urban Green Council reveals that one-third of all large buildings in the state exist outside of New York City, but we know little about their energy use. Listen in as Danielle Manley, Associate Director of Policy at Urban Green Council, makes the case for why statewide benchmarking is a crucial first step towards empowering l...
Live from the Urban Green conference, this episode features experts discussing how resilience is reshaping building design amid climate change. Panelists delve into the shifts in integrating climate risk, the challenges and solutions in construction, and the evolving role of the insurance industry. They also cover legal responsibilities for professionals and highlight strategies for combining decarbonization with long-term building resilience.
Live from Urban Green's 2025 annual conference, this special episode of Building Tomorrow features an exciting conversation about the future of battery storage on the grid and in buildings. In the coming years, battery storage will be an increasingly important tool for adding capacity to the electrical grid and increasing resilience. As demand for renewable energy grows, battery storage offers a flexible solution to store excess energy, ensuring a reliable and stable power supply. In this sessio...
Live from Urban Green's 2025 annual conference, this special episode of Building Tomorrow features an exciting conversation about a new concept for a program that would dramatically simplify decarbonization projects and drive down costs. The panel discussion is moderated by Chris Halfnight , Urban Green’s Senior Director of Research and Policy. The other panel speakers include: James Gepner , NYSERDA Joe Chavez , NYC Mayor’s Office of Climate and Environmental Justice Susan Leeds of Garrison Ass...
The 32BJ Training Fund provides free training to eligible 32BJ SEIU workers, ranging from cleaners, maintenance workers, building engineers, and superintendents so they can build the environments where people want to live and work. Hear from Michaela Boren, Manager for Green Programs, about how the 32BJ Training Fund has incorporated sustainability training into their work, and how that training helps workers advance in their careers. RESOURCES: 32BJ Training Fund website 32BJ Training Fund Cour...
The Inflation Reduction Act is the largest climate action ever taken by the federal government. In this episode of Building Tomorrow , hear from Amanda Clevinger and Ion Simonides about the IRA’s substantial incentives for green building initiatives, including tax credits and rebates for energy-efficient upgrades and renewable energy installations. HOSTS: Ellen Honingstock , Senior Direction, Education, Urban Green Council Amanda Clevenger , Policy and Programs Director, Bright Power SPEAKER: Io...
In this episode of Building Tomorrow , Mark MacCracken, the Vice President of CALMAC at Trane Technologies, joins host Ellen Honigstock and co-host Whitney Smith to discuss thermal energy storage. Thermal energy storage is a clean energy alternative that involves using ice for cooling and water for storing heat. Listen in to learn more about how this method of heating and cooling compares to fossil fuel systems and conventional electric resistance. HOSTS: Ellen Honigstock, Senior Director, Educa...
To decarbonize New York City buildings, heating systems reliant on fossil fuels must be replaced with sustainable alternatives. In this episode of Building Tomorrow , Brightcore’s Jonathan Hernandez joins Urban Green’s Ellen Honigstock to discuss geothermal energy and how it can be expanded in NYC to decarbonize buildings and make them more resilient. Listen in as they dive into the geothermal industry, and how new policies and technologies are making the installation of more ground source heat ...
Building systems are designed and installed separately, but at the end of the day, they have to work together in order for a building to work as intended. Commissioning makes that happen. In this episode of Building Tomorrow , Kelly Westby from Steven Winter Associates joins Urban Green’s Ellen Honigstock to discuss all things commissioning, including: Commissioning as a systems-thinking process The importance of communication Where human science and building science come together By the end of ...
Retrofitting existing buildings can help increase energy efficiency and cut carbon emissions. But what do these retrofits look like in a place like Manhattan, where almost one-third of total floor area has landmark status and is, therefore, energy-code exempt? In this episode, Dr. Erica Avrami, Nate Rogers and Kate Reggev discuss these energy code waivers and how, despite the waivers, new greenhouse gas legislation could necessitate energy retrofits in historic buildings. This new era of regulat...
The first compliance period for Local Law 97 is here, and energy upgrades in NYC’s existing buildings will need to pick up. But what kind of upgrades are needed, and who will do the work? Manny Pastreich, President of 32BJ SEIU, joins Urban Green CEO John Mandyck on Building Tomorrow for a discussion on how we can mobilize the green workforce to complete these energy upgrades. HOST: John Mandyck , CEO, Urban Green Council SPEAKER: Manny Pastreich, President, 32BJ SEIU RESOURCES: Recording of the...
Installing an energy upgrade in an occupied building is difficult. These projects are also critical to realizing decarbonization goals. In this episode of Building Tomorrow, hear from Trevor Smith, a construction manager with extensive experience in completing design-build energy projects in occupied buildings. Trevor shares tips on how to carry out these projects successfully, including how to improve communication and work better with operations staff. HOSTS: Ellen Honigstock, Senior Director,...
Measuring and disclosing “financed carbon emissions”—or Scope 3 emissions—by banks and financial institutions is critical for investors who seek to understand climate risk in their portfolios. New York City Comptroller Brad Lander is responsible for the management of over $240 billion in pension funds and is leveraging this role to drive carbon disclosure, including Scope 3 emissions, from the companies in which pension funds are invested. On September 13, 2023, Comptroller Lander joined Urban G...
In Dr. Melissa Checker’s 2020 book, The Sustainability Myth , she took a critical look at the hidden costs—and contradictions—of New York City’s ambitious sustainability agenda. Her insights into the dynamics of environmental gentrification shed light on some of the hidden forces driving redevelopment in the city. Three years after the book was published, Dr. Checker joined Building Tomorrow to chat about what has changed in the years since and how we can equitably distribute the benefits of the...
Embodied carbon—the emissions resulting from the manufacturing, transportation, installation, maintenance, and disposal of building materials—will play a key role in decarbonizing the built environment. In this episode of Building Tomorrow, Ellen Honigstock and Prateek Srivastava sit down with Stantec’s Robby Vogel to get a Structural Engineer’s perspective on strategies to reduce embodied carbon and how they can be employed in the built environment. They discuss everything from new technologies...
As New York City transitions away from fossil fuels, it’s imperative that environmental justice be centered in policy making, and that people from historically disadvantaged communities actively benefit from the transition. In this episode of Building Tomorrow, Zakiyah Sayyed and Anushka Maqbool sit down with Sonal Jessel, Director of Policy at WE ACT for Environmental Justice, to talk about Sonal’s career journey, WE ACT’s work with electrification and workforce training, and the importance of ...
In February 2023, Michael Deane, former Vice President and Chief Sustainability Officer for Turner Construction and Urban Green Board Member, passed away, leaving behind a legacy as a dedicated sustainability champion and friend to the green building movement. Today, we’re re-releasing this 2018 conversation between Michael and Urban Green Senior Director of Education Ellen Honigstock: a wide-ranging discussion on eliminating construction waste and the wide array of innovations that lie at the i...
As materials and construction account for 11 percent of global carbon emissions, embodied carbon—the emissions arising from the manufacturing, transportation, installation, maintenance, and disposal of building materials—will play a key role in our path to deep decarbonization of our built environment. Join Shruti Narkar and Ellen Honigstock in a conversation with Aurora Jensen where she provides helpful tips on how to measure, track and scale the reduction of embodied carbon through her experie...
Current benchmarking of building performance provides energy consumption data on a monthly basis. Molly Dee-Ramasamy thinks we can do better. Join Taylor Duncan and Ellen Honigstock as they interview Molly about a new cross-collaborative initiative that explores how measuring certain building data on an hourly basis can make benchmarking more precise, fair, and actionable in support of an affordable, low-carbon future. Guest: Molly Dee-Ramasamy, Director, Deep Carbon Reduction Group, JB&B Ho...
Last year Urban Green published a major research report, Grid Ready, which found that converting building heating and hot water systems from fossil fuels to electric heat pumps does not pose any near-term risk to New York City’s electric grid. Our research and policy team recently expanded this analysis to explore how increasing power demand from building electrification impacts the grid in environmental justice communities. This new analysis, Exploring Equitable Electrification , found that the...
Decarbonization, electrification, and climate adaptation are the topics that are driving decision-making in the public and private sectors today. In this new podcast series by Urban Green Council we break down these complex topics, and introduce you to people who are advancing the reality of a clean, affordable low-carbon future and are helping solve climate change bit by bit.
