A Status of BuildSmart NY: NY State’s Progress to Date and Strategy for Action
Lloyd Kass, Director of BuildSmart NY, New York Power Authority (NYPA)
ABSTRACT
The State's efforts to reach Governor Cuomo's goal of a 20% improvement in energy efficiency by 2020
are encapsulated in four key strategies: (1) Smart Analytics: innovating with building intelligence and big
data; (2) Smart Government: transforming State government into an enhanced resource for agencies; (3)
Smart Infrastructure: transforming State facilities by implementing energy-saving capital projects and
leveraging the marketplace; and (4) Smart Operations: strengthening the operations and maintenance of
State buildings. The presentation would run through these four strategies, detailing their component parts
(for example, Smart Government includes coordinated support services, budgeting, procurement and
contracting, and performance management) and highlighting pertinent examples that are actually being
implemented by New York State agencies right now. The presentation would end with a quantitative
and qualitative assessment of progress to date.
BIOGRAPHY
Lloyd Kass is the New York Power Authority’s (NYPA’s) Director of BuildSmart NY, Governor Andrew M.
Cuomo’s initiative for accelerating clean energy and energy efficiency in buildings operated by the State
of New York, with a 20% energy use reduction mandated by 2020. Mr. Kass is an 22-year veteran of
state and local government and the private sector, who has focused on deployment of large, publicly
funded energy efficiency and capital programs in New York. Before joining NYPA a little over a year ago,
he spent 4 years in consulting, implementing major energy efficiency programs in the NYC metro region,
with Con Edison, PSE&G, and NYSERDA. Before that, Mr. Kass spent 11 years with in NY City
government; this included a 5 year stint as energy director of New York City Housing Authority, rolling out
energy efficiency initiatives at thousands of publicly-operated multifamily housing buildings. Mr. Kass is
an Adjunct Associate Professor at Columbia University, instructing graduate students in public
administration and environmental policy.