IMPACT OF NYC LOCAL LAW 33 ON GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS

The Capstone team investigated the impact of public efficiency
grade disclosure on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions among large
buildings in New York City. Leveraging data from the NYC Energy
& Water Performance Map, the team analyzed 48,334 buildings
over 25,000 square feet in floor area that received efficiency labels
between fiscal years 2018 and 2022. Employing a difference-in-
difference framework with a cutpoint of 69 (Letter Grade C), the
team compared emissions changes in buildings falling just below
and above this threshold. The team’s analysis incorporates robust
regression techniques, including Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) and
models with Robust Standard Errors, to examine the relationship
between energy efficiency (as measured by Energy Star Scores)
and GHG emissions. Preliminary findings suggest that higher
efficiency scores are significantly associated with lower emissions,
underscoring the potential of efficiency grading as a policy tool for
reducing environmental impacts. Further research explores causal
relationships through additional data visualizations and comparative
analyses of treatment and control groups.