Everything You Need to Know About Boston’s New Climate & Energy Laws (BERDO & BERDO 2.0)
Key Takeaways:
Boston’s stringent building energy regulations are already being updated and ramped up.
Building owners in Boston must begin planning performance disclosures and establish a pathway towards carbon neutrality now.
Boston’s Building Energy Reporting & Disclosure Ordinance (BERDO) is the latest effort in the city’s aspirational climate plans to reduce carbon emissions. Like many laws being passed across the country, Massachusetts and the city of Boston are targeting buildings specifically. The Building Energy Use Disclosure Ordinance (BEUDO) enacted in adjacent Cambridge followed Boston’s lead. Boston’s BERDO was recently updated, adding performance standards. The ordinances established an energy benchmarking and performance auditing process for building owners to hopefully be applied across the Commonwealth.
Who’s Affected
Existing BERDO laws require building owners in Boston with non-residential buildings larger than 35,000 square feet must comply. Residential buildings larger than 35,000 square feet, or properties with 35 or more units, must also follow the new ordinance. BERDO 2.0 amended those regulations to include any building greater than 20,000 square feet or with at least 15 units. Any land parcel with a sum total of more than 100,000 square of building space or 100 units is also covered by the ordinance.
In Cambridge, government buildings above 10,000 square feet, commercial buildings larger than 25,000 square feet, and residential buildings with more than 50 units are required to track and report energy use. Buildings with historical significance or locked into long-term, energy contracts can apply for exemptions.
What’s Required
Owners in both Boston and Cambridge must use the EPA’s ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager to report energy and water consumption for each property impacted by the ordinance. Owners in Boston must also submit a report to the city. The necessary information to fill out the EPA and City’s forms can be requested from energy and water providers serving each asset.
Reports are due by May 15th each year in Boston. Cambridge’s law sets the deadline at May 1. BERDO 2.0 creates enforceable energy performance standards. Starting in 2025 for already covered buildings (35,000 square feet or more) and 2030 for newly covered buildings (20,000 square feet or more), BERDO 2.0 requires owners to submit plans to the city outlining the asset’s path to carbon neutrality by 2050.
Enforcement/Fines
Falling to meet reporting requirements by the deadline in Boston will result in fines from $25-$200 per violation, varying by the type of asset. Commercial owners with buildings over 50,000 square feet are subject to the maximum fine of $200. Fines can be issued daily until owners comply or the fines reach the $3,000 maximum limit. Cambridge will issue a warning the first day, levying $300 fines per day for subsequent violations thereafter. Failing to comply with emission standards will result in fines as high as $1,000 a day for larger buildings. Falsifying reports will result in a fine ranging from $1,000 to $5,000.
Insight
The benchmarking law was just the start of Boston’s climate policies. Future iterations of BERDO are already upping the ante, requiring more time and investment from property owners and facility managers. BERDO 2.0 also establishes an Emissions Review Board, consisting of nine members appointed by the Mayor. The board will oversee enforcement, adjudicate Hardship Compliance plans, approve expenditures collected from fines and propose a new regulation
Nantum OS makes compliance easy by automating downloadable benchmark reports, uploading the necessary data into the ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager seamlessly. Nantum OS also plays a major factor in energy audits, carbon neutrality pathway planning and can even monitor and track emissions around the clock.
BERDO and BERDO 2.0 are major steps forward for environmental policy but just the first of many. Cutting carbon emissions from buildings will require owners and regulators to work together on policies. Vigilance and discipline backed by the legal authority of the newly passed laws will help the Commonwealth continue to be a leader in the fight against climate change.
