NEW YORK STATE AGENCIES ANNOUNCE PROGRESS ON REDUCING ENVIRONMENTAL FOOTPRINT OF STATE OPERATIONS IN 11TH “GREENING NEW YORK STATE” REPORT

 

Practices Implemented Under Executive Order 22 Are Accelerating Sustainability and Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions

GreenNY Council Issues Additional GreenNY Procurement Specifications to Eliminate PFAS in Products and Accelerate Clean Energy Transition

Supports Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act Requirements to Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions by 85 percent by 2050  

The GreenNY Council today announced the release of the 11th Greening New York State report which documents progress toward meeting the requirements in Executive Order #22, “Leading by Example: Directing State Agencies to Adopt a Sustainability and Decarbonization Program,”  signed by Governor Kathy Hochul in September 2022. The report highlights actions that agencies and authorities are taking to reduce energy use and improve energy efficiency, decrease waste generation, increase the purchasing of green products and services, and more. This announcement supports the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (Climate Act) requirements to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 85 percent by 2050.

 

The GreenNY Council, created by E.O. #22 and co-chaired by the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), New York Power Authority (NYPA), Office of General Services (OGS), Division of Budget (DOB), and New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA), led the creation of the report and collected data from the 75 agencies and authorities covered by EO22.

 

Key findings on State agency sustainability actions during fiscal year 21-22 in the report include:

• 50 percent increase in composting of organic matter for a total 12,888 tons, including 4,910 tons being food scraps;
• 91 percent overall recycling rate for things such as office recyclables, bulk materials and clean construction and demolition debris;
• 38 trillion BTUs of energy savings toward the 11 trillion BTU goal of the BuildSmart 2025 program, which is an increase of almost one trillion BTUs from the previous year;
• 37 new and updated GreenNY procurement specifications; and
• $286 million in spending on green products and services that decrease energy use, decrease the use of toxic substances, and accelerate the market shift towards more sustainable products economywide. 

Continuing Green Procurement Leadership

The GreenNY Council today also finalized two additional GreenNY procurement specifications. These specifications will lower the environmental impact of goods and services purchased and used by New York State government, with a focus on reducing greenhouse gas emissions and reducing exposure to hazardous substances. The approved specifications include:

• Carpet cleaning products: ensuring that carpet cleaning products purchased by the State do not contain Per- and Polyfluorinated Alkyl Substances (PFAS), among other performance requirements.
• Solar photovoltaic systems: the existing procurement specification was updated to increase efficiency thresholds, ensuring that New York State entities are getting more renewable energy from the solar panels they install.

New York State's Nation-Leading Climate Plan

New York State's nation-leading climate agenda calls for an orderly and just transition that creates family-sustaining jobs, continues to foster a green economy across all sectors and ensures that at least 35 percent, with a goal of 40 percent, of the benefits of clean energy investments are directed to disadvantaged communities. Guided by some of the nation's most aggressive climate and clean energy initiatives, New York is on a path to achieving a zero-emission electricity sector by 2040, including 70 percent renewable energy generation by 2030, and economywide carbon neutrality by mid-century. A cornerstone of this transition is New York's unprecedented clean energy investments, including more than $35 billion in 120 large-scale renewable and transmission projects across the state, $6.8 billion to reduce building emissions, $3.3 billion to scale up solar, more than $1 billion for clean transportation initiatives, and over $2 billion in NY Green Bank commitments. These and other investments are supporting more than 165,000 jobs in New York's clean energy sector in 2021 and over 3,000 percent growth in the distributed solar sector since 2011. To reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve air quality, New York also adopted zero-emission vehicle regulations, including requiring all new passenger cars and light-duty trucks sold in the State be zero emission by 2035. Partnerships are continuing to advance New York's climate action with nearly 400 registered and more than 100 certified Climate Smart Communities, nearly 500 Clean Energy Communities, and the State's largest community air monitoring initiative in 10 disadvantaged communities across the state to help target air pollution and combat climate change.