Boston’s building emissions-control law adds new requirements for larger buildings to start lowering their emissions – an area where HVAC systems are a major contributor. iStock photo
Boston officials gave owners of large buildings a three-month extension to report their plans to comply with the city’s Buildings Emissions Reduction and Disclosure Ordinance (BERDO).
The BERDO Review Board extended the deadline until Aug. 15, giving building owners additional time to purchase renewable energy credits as one potential compliance measure.
BERDO applies to approximately 5,500 buildings in Boston that generate an estimated 40 percent of carbon emissions contributing to climate change. Building owners are required to comply by switching to non fossil fuel-burning systems, submitting alternative compliance payments to a city fund, or purchasing Massachusetts Class One Renewable Energy Certificates.
REC’s are issued by renewable energy producers. Boston’s Environment Department partners with Green Energy Consumers Alliance on a REC Connector Program.
The changes would allow building owners to purchase Massachusetts Class I RECs issued in the first half of 2026 as part of their 2025 compliance with BERDO, Boston’s Director of Carbon Neutrality Hannah Payne told the BERDO Review Board this week. The 2025 compliance period coincided with the calendar year, after which building owners are required to submit verified third-party data on emissions.
The Boston Air Pollution Control Commission also has to approve the changes following a public comment period, which is scheduled to expire in mid-May.
“Several hundred” owners already have submitted their annual compliance plans and third-party reporting verification, Payne said.
Fines for non-compliance, which range up to $1,000 per day for the largest buildings, would not be issued until next spring, Payne said.
BERDO requires owners of large commercial and multifamily buildings to gradually reduce carbon emissions through 2050.
Boston’s Environment Department estimates that 80 percent of buildings subject to BERDO will comply with the initial emissions standard without having to purchase RECs or submit alternative compliance payments, Environment Commissioner Oliver Sellers-Garcia said.
“Many are meeting their emissions thresholds because of work that they have already done, and the BERDO program was designed in very close coordination with property owners,” Sellers-Garcia said.
The Environment Department is offering free technical support during regular business hours at 617-635-3850 x5 or energyreporting@boston.gov.
