Capital Stack

Local Law 97 (LL97) has always been framed as a future-facing mandate. That framing is no longer useful. In 2026, LL97 has entered its “penalty era,” meaning the market is shifting from abstract planning to practical decision-making: what gets measured, what gets filed, what triggers fines, and what capital projects actually change the emissions trajectory. The enforcement mechanics matter because they shape behavior. Under NYC guidance, penalties apply both to failing to sub

Operational emissions used to dominate building conversations: energy use, fuel switching, electrification, demand management. That focus remains, but the market is widening. Embodied carbon—the emissions associated with materials and construction—is moving from “nice-to-measure” to “required-to-document,” especially as public procurement and major owners tighten standards. The signal is clearest in federal work. GSA has published requirements related to Inflation Reduction A

In green building, we used to treat “high-performance” as a design ambition: tighter envelopes, better mechanicals, higher scores, nicer dashboards. I n 2026, the market has moved . High-performance is now a finance term—because owners, lenders, and tenants are underwriting operating stability, grid risk, and regulatory exposure as part of building value. The buildings that win this cycle aren’t just efficient; they’re energy-ready, compliance-ready, and capital-ready. That s

Incentives are not new. What’s new in 2026 is how central incentives have become to project feasibility—and how unforgiving the documentation and timing requirements can be. A “good retrofit” that misses incentive documentation windows, fails to align procurement milestones, or can’t prove performance may end up underfunded and delayed. The market is also navigating shifting policy constraints and deadlines. Separately, IRA-era mechanisms like elective pay and transferability