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NYCHA's Sustainability Agenda

NYCHA’s new Sustainability Agenda was released in 2021 

Energy and Carbon

Energy and Carbon
Health And Wellbeing

Health And Wellbeing
Community

Community
Resource Management

Resource Management
Economics

Economics


As the nation’s largest public housing authority, NYCHA can lead the way in addressing the climate crisis while solving long-standing quality of life issues in NYCHA homes. Our commitment to tackling these issues has culminated in the development of our new Sustainability Agenda, published in September 2021. The Sustainability Agenda is our roadmap for creating healthier, safer, and more comfortable homes for our residents while ensuring that NYCHA survives and thrives to serve generations to come.

This agenda builds on a 20-year track record of successful energy-efficiency initiatives, with more than $360 million in energy-efficiency construction projects ongoing today including NYCHA's HUD Energy Performance Contracting program (EPC) which is the largest such program in the country. By re-evaluating the goals and strategies of the first Sustainability Agenda and setting more ambitious targets, NYCHA seeks to create a better environment for residents and staff while being at the forefront of innovation.

Sustainability Agenda Goals

The goals in the Sustainability Agenda are based on sustainability-related themes of Carbon and Energy, Health and Wellbeing, Community, Facilities and Resource Management, and Economics.

  • Goal 1: Reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 80 percent by 2050
  • Goal 2: Cultivate healthy and resilient communities based on design excellence
  • Goal 3: Empower residents through community activation and workforce development
  • Goal 4: Ensure efficient building operations and resource management
  • Goal 5: Leverage all funding and financing toward healthier and decarbonized buildings

NYCHA will provide yearly progress updates, and the Sustainability Agenda will be released every five years to ensure it reflects technological advances and the needs of the Agency.

Stakeholder Engagement Process

The success and longevity of NYCHA’s sustainability goals are greatly dependent on resident engagement. NYCHA staff worked collaboratively with residents and other key stakeholders to ensure the values of transparency, trust, accountability, and inclusivity were included during the development of this policy document. 

During the development of this document, NYCHA conducted a robust resident and stakeholder engagement process that involved technical panels, community-based organization roundtable, a draft document review period, and a workshop series with residents. Through this collaborative process, NYCHA ensured that residents and stakeholders weighed in on NYCHA’s vision for sustainability.

By documenting and drawing lessons from its current and past sustainability projects, the Sustainability Agenda utilizes a participatory process of monitoring, learning, and action.

NYCHA Sustainability Agenda

Sustainability Agenda in Action

Below is a dropdown menu of featured programs that NYCHA is implementing to deliver the goals of the Sustainability Agenda. This catalog of work exemplifies the breadth and diversity of NYCHA’s energy and sustainability portfolio and commitment to healthier, safer, and more comfortable homes for residents.

The details included are the goals, impacts, and the next steps of each program. The PDF documents may require Adobe Reader to view.

Annual Progress Reports

NYCHA strives to put the feedback heard from the rigorous stakeholder engagement process into practice. Through our yearly updates, we provide transparency and accountability for each commitment.

Every Earth Day, NYCHA will provide an update of our Sustainability Agenda, the five-year update of which was published in 2021. Below is a link to the annual progress report:

2016 Sustainability Agenda

Resources

Since the publication of the 2016 Sustainability Agenda, NYCHA has released additional reports to complement the set goals. NYCHA’s sustainability efforts are led by the Sustainability Department. Below are links to the additional reports as well as additional data sources: