Green Building & Sustainability

Image of Downtown Los Angeles

Solar Energy

Production of electricity from fossil fuels creates pollution, including smog and greenhouse gas emissions. Combining the abundance of sunshine our city enjoys with the advantage of owning our own municipal utility, Los Angeles’s investment in solar is generating clean power, reducing pollution, and improving grid reliability.

Water Conservation

In Los Angeles, we use an average of 104 gallons per day. Most of our water is used to irrigate our yards, keep our buildings cool, and fill our swimming pools. As drought conditions continue and Los Angeles looks to increase its own local water supply, long-term water conservation changes are needed at every level. New building codes and rebates provide incentives to conserve and adapt to a changing climate. For example, Angelenos can save thousands of gallons by installing water-efficient fixtures/appliances and drought-tolerant landscaping.

Electric Vehicle Chargers

Transportation is one of the largest and fastest growing contributors to greenhouse gas emissions associated with climate change. The state of California has the highest ratio of car ownership in the world, while the transportation industry contributes more than 40% of statewide greenhouse gas emissions.

Electrical permits for Electrical Vehicle Charging Station(s) can be obtained using LADBS’s online permitting system.

Existing Buildings Energy & Water Efficiency (EBEWE) Program

Per Division 97 of the Los Angeles Municipal Code (effective 2017), owners of certain existing buildings are required to: 1) Disclose their building’s energy and water consumption using the EPA's ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager® system for benchmarking; and 2) Comply with the requirements for Audits and Retro-Commissioning. The City will use this information to generate various reports. For additional infomation, please refer to the EBEWE website for a full description of the Program.


Other Green Building Programs

Cool Roof

A cool roof is a roofing product that reflects sunlight and absorbs less heat than traditional roofs. Cool roofs lower roof temperatures on hot sunny days and therefore keep buildings cooler inside, saving energy by reducing the need for running air conditioning systems. Although often light in color, cool roofs can come in a wide variety of colors ranging from white to black, including blues, grays, greens, oranges, browns, and tans. Cool roofs also are available in a variety of styles: shingle, shake, tile, membrane, and spray-on liquid coatings.

Waste Hauling

On March 5, 2010, the Los Angeles City Council approved Council File 09-3029 pertaining to a Citywide Construction and Demolition (C & D) Waste Recycling Ordinance that requires ALL mixed C & D waste generated within city limits be taken to City-certified C & D waste processors. LA Sanitation (LASAN) is responsible for the C & D waste recycling policy.

Construction and demolition materials make up a large percent of the waste stream, but many of it can be reused or recycled. All haulers and contractors responsible for handling C & D waste must obtain a Private Waste Hauler Permit from LASAN prior to collecting, hauling and transporting C & D waste, and C & D waste can only be taken to City-certified C &D processing facilities.

Fireplaces

The South Coast Air Basin presently has some of the highest levels of fine particulate pollution in the United States.  Public health and air pollution concerns led to the adoption of Rule 445. Wood-burning devices are significant sources of air pollution in the Southland and can pollute indoor air with fine particulates and toxic air pollutants.