CalGreen: California’s New Green Building Code

Amy L. Edwards is a Partner in our Washington D.C. office.
Jennifer Hernandez is a Partner and Madeline Stone is of counsel in our San Francisco office.

Many state and local governments are demanding that the built environment become "green." Cities and counties are undertaking efforts at the local level to increase energy efficiency and require greater sustainability in buildings and reduce stormwater runoff. Such efforts include:

• The District of Columbia has adopted green building and energy benchmarking legislation, and is conducting a second round of "greening" its building code.
• New York City has adopted a Greener, Greater Buildings Plan that will require building energy rating and annual disclosure for larger buildings, as well as energy audits and retro-commissioning of private and large public buildings. Buildings will also be required to meet a New York City Energy Code upon renovation.