City launches NYC Green manufacturing initiative.

The dramatic growth in the construction of energy-efficient, environmentally-friendly buildings is creating new markets for green building products and materials.

The "NYC Green Manufacturing Initiative" was launched in 2006 by Christine Quinn, Speaker of the New York City Council and James Gennaro, Chair of the Council's Committee on Environmental Protection, to both help developers find these products, to help local manufacturers compete in these growing markets and capitalize on the opportunity to create green-collar jobs. The initiative is less than one year old but has already begun to produce major results: locally-manufactured products are being specified for new construction, and local manufacturers are upgrading their products and operations to meet green building standards.

Building Green, a study released in 2005 by the New York Industrial Retention Network (NYIRN) and the Industrial & Technology Assistance Corporation (ITAC), concluded that the regional construction industry was undergoing a fundamental shift to meet the Leadership in Energy and Environment (LEED) standards promulgated by the U.S. Green Building Council and that this shift presented an opportunity for manufacturers.

The LEED standards measure the sustainable attributes of a building based on criteria such as the use of recycled materials, energy and water efficiency, the use of materials and products manufactured within 500 miles of the building site.

This last criteria offers local companies a competitive advantage in competing in the growing high-performance building market. The City Council passed Local Law 86, which requires that certain capital funded projects meet LEED or equivalent standards.

The barrier to the growth of green manufacturing, revealed in NYIRN's Building Green study, was a marketing mismatch--while architects and others were interested in local products, they generally thought that such products were no longer manufactured in New York City. In fact, NYIRN identified 1,500 NYC-based manufacturers that made products used in the construction or furnishing of buildings.

The NYC Green Manufacturing Initiative sought to overcome this mismatch by bringing together potential consumers of green products in the real estate community with local manufacturers. For example, NYIRN is providing sourcing assistance that has resulted in several local products being specified in the new Bank of America building.

NYIRN is now working with Goldman Sachs and Tishman Speyer to create a directory of local companies for the construction of Goldman's new downtown headquarters. "The Council is trying to get the greatest economic and environmental benefit possible out of the growth of sustainable development," said Councilman James Gennaro, the sponsor of the NYC Green Manufacturing Initiative. "This means, for example, not only reducing energy consumption and emissions, but capturing as many of the new green collar jobs as possible."

Other services provided through the Green Manufacturing Initiative include the Made in NYC website (www.madeinnyc.org), and the Spec It Green workshop series.

The website includes a database of more than 700 local manufacturers and information about the environmental impacts of local products and manufacturing processes.

The Spec It Green workshop series and minitrade shows provide information on financing, using green products, and the various environmental certifications related to green building and energy efficiency.

It also provides opportunities for architects and others to meet the manufacturers and see their products.

Finally, the Council is also funding a study by the NYC Apollo Alliance, a coalition of labor, environmentalists, business, and educators, which examines the potential for future "green-collar job" creation and the need for relevant workforce training programs.