Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center

At a Glance

Industry

Health Care

Project Types

Clean and Renewable Energy, Data Analysis, Zero Emission Vehicles, Freight and Logistics, Goals/Targets, Supply Chain

Year

2020

Location

New York, NY

Summary

Rahul Vemuru analyzed several compliance pathways for Local Law 97 that could potentially reduce the tCO2e/sq ft of one of Memorial Sloan Kettering’s Cancer Center’s (MSK) large NYC research facilities.

Goals

Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK), one of the world’s most renowned cancer research institutions, is one of many organizations that will be subjected to New York City’s Local Law 97. Failing to comply with the law over the specified timeline would incur heavy penalties. Hence, MSK enlisted Rahul Vemuru to assist the Energy and Sustainability team in researching compliance measures in accordance to Local Law 97.

Solutions

Rahul approached the task using a two-part process:

  • Identify buildings that could be penalized, using data analysis. All of the buildings owned by MSK in New York City (larger than 25,000 sq ft) were analyzed based on electricity, steam and natural gas usage, and the resultant emissions (tCO2e) were compared to the stringent limit for healthcare facilities, specified in Local Law 97 legislation. Local Law 97 states that buildings with emissions above the limit will be charged with a penalty of $268 per extra ton of CO2e.

  • Explore potential compliance pathways towards Local Law 97 to reduce or prevent MSK’s incurring paying financial penalties. Rahul analyzed three pathways to accomplish this goal – carbon offsets, renewable energy credits (RECs) and electrification. He then completed some further analysis to arrive at the estimated costs of pursuing each of these pathways and how much penalty reduction each of them could provide.

Impact

The first phase of Local Law 97 starts in 2024, followed by phase two in 2030 and so on until 2050 (five-year spans). At this moment, Rahul’s work provides MSK with a solid foundation to build on and develop a pathway that will reduce tCO2e/sq ft and penalties. The emission limits in Local Law 97 get more stringent with each phase, hence starting early and planning plays a very important role in identifying potential solutions which will save MSK penalty fines.

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