iStock photo

Boston officials set a schedule for large building owners to begin complying with new regulations designed to halve carbon emissions by 2030.

The new regulations, adopted this week by the Air Pollution Control Commission, target the largest buildings which comprise 5 percent of Boston’s building stock but generate approximately 40 percent of emissions. The Building Emissions Reduction and Disclosure Ordinance (BERDO) applies to nearly 6,000 buildings that are 20,000 square feet or larger or have 15 or more housing units.

Building owners can apply to the Air Pollution Control Commission for a hardship which exempts them for one to three years. Hardship applications for 2025 will be due on July 1, 2024.

Approved by the City Council in 2021, BERDO requires large building owners to report emissions and water usage data, and submit goals for reduction. Property owners can comply by switching from gas-powered heating systems to electric, join district energy systems with non-fossil fuel sources, purchase clean energy credits or make payments to the city’s Equitable Emissions Investment Fund. The fund will subsidize projects in environmental justice communities.

Boston-based Vicinity Energy has been promoting its “eSteam” heating service as an option for developers and landlords seeking to comply with the ordinance.

The ordinance sets standards for 13 different primary building uses.

The city’s BERDO team will host a webinar on Jan. 3 to provide details on compliance.

Boston Sets Timeline for Building Emission Cuts

by Steve Adams time to read: 1 min
0