Los Angeles, CA

Background

Through the Los Angeles Better Buildings Chellenge (la-bbc.com), Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and the City of Los Angeles have launched a comprehensive array of programs to reduce energy consumption in existing buildings, from retrofitting City-owned facilities and affordable housing stock, to working with the private sector to support financing of energy efficiency and water efficiency upgrades in commercial buildings. Los Angeles has set a goal of 20% minimum overall savings on 30 million combined square feet of projects supported through the three programs, and will work with and recognize private sector property owners who make commitments of their own to reduce energy consumption by at least 20% by 2020, consistent with the Better Buildings Challenge goals.

The City of Los Angeles General Services Department has initiated over 50 projects since December 2010, encompassing 1M square feet and representing an investment of $16M. Since April 2012, the City of Los Angeles Housing Department has extended loans to fund efficiency retrofits of 10 affordable housing projects, encompassing over 650,000 square feet and representing over $4.5M in investment. Since June 2011 the LA Commercial Building Performance Partnership has initiated energy audits encompassing over 35 million square feet of commercial space -- from small neighborhood retailers to downtown skyscrapers -- and has developed a directory of capital providers to facilitate access to project funding options, with the goal of driving at least $25 million in total investment during their partnership in the Better Buildings Challenge.