DCAS, MOCS Employs Challenge-Based Procurement to Modernize Building Controls and Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions in City Buildings

November 3, 2025

Initiative Reimagines How the City Partners with Industry to Drive Sustainability and Efficiency

NEW YORK CITY - New York City Department of Citywide Administrative Services (DCAS) Commissioner Louis A. Molina and the New York City Chief Procurement Officer and Director of the Mayor's Office of Contract Services (MOCS) Kim Yu today announced the release of a new challenge-based procurement solicitation to identify innovative solutions that will reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and improve energy performance in city-owned buildings. Previously, city-owned building would operate on outdated pneumatic control systems.

Challenge-based procurement is a new model for city procurement - it allows the city to issue a challenge statement that defines a complex problem rather than prescribing a solution. This new method allows vendors to propose innovative solutions and gives agencies the tools to pilot promising offerings and scale up incrementally without initiating a new procurement - reducing administrative burden, accelerating implementation, and fostering innovation. This challenge-based procurement will support the city's commitment under Local Law 97 of 2019, which mandates significant reductions in greenhouse gas emissions from city government operations.

"The challenge-based procurement program is another smart way New York City can lead by example," said New York City Mayor Eric Adams. "By allowing our procurement process to be more innovative, we're empowering creative solutions that cut emissions, modernize our buildings, and help us meet our climate goals under Local Law 97. It's a new model for how government can work by streamlining processes to build a cleaner and greener city for generations to come."

"This initiative represents an ideal use case for challenge-based procurement where government innovation can tap into the new frontiers of sustainable technologies to modernize building systems," said DCAS Commissioner Louis A. Molina. "By reimagining how we upgrade aging infrastructure, we can reduce emissions, improve efficiency, and deliver lasting value for New Yorkers."'

"Challenge-Based Procurement demonstrates what's possible when city agencies come together to reimagine how we contract for innovation," said City Chief Procurement Officer and MOCS Director Kim Yu. "The release of these procurements' marks New York City's latest use of this forward-thinking procurement model. MOCS is proud to have partnered with DCAS to create a pathway for testing and scaling transformative ideas that advance the city's goals for sustainability and efficiency."

The solicitation invites vendors, technology developers, and innovators to propose new products, technologies, or approaches that can efficiently convert the city's aging pneumatic and manual building control systems to modern digital controls. The vast majority of city-owned buildings - more than 75 percent - were built before 1975, long before the widespread use of digital control systems. Many of these facilities still operate on outdated legacy systems that are costly to maintain, inefficient, and hinder the city's ability to manage energy use effectively.

Examples of proposed solutions can include either partial or full digital conversions that integrate with Building Management Systems, or standalone technologies that add digital functionality to existing infrastructure. DCAS is particularly interested in solutions that are:

• Simple to install, operate, and maintain
• Scalable across a large and diverse building portfolio
• Cost-effective with predictable pricing structures
• Designed to minimize disruption to ongoing building operations
• Capable of improving occupant comfort and enabling better data collection and analysis

DCAS will evaluate proposals and may enter into negotiations with up to five proposers. Selected vendors will be awarded contracts to carry out a Demonstration Project-a time-limited pilot to evaluate the proposed solution in a real-world setting. Based on the results, DCAS may authorize broader implementation across the city's building portfolio.

"DCAS is proud to lead by example in driving climate innovation," said Deputy Commissioner of Energy Management and the City's Chief Decarbonization Officer Sana Barakat. "This Challenge-Based Procurement represents a groundbreaking shift in how the city partners with the private sector, inviting bold ideas and creative solutions that expand our toolkit for building a more sustainable, efficient, and resilient New York."

Interested vendors can access the full solicitation and submission details through PASSPort, the City's online procurement portal. Proposals must be submitted in accordance with the procedures outlined in the solicitation documents, the city's online procurement portal. Proposals must be submitted in accordance with the procedures outlined in the solicitation documents.