How Does Boston’s Building Energy Reporting and Disclosure Ordinance (BERDO 2.0) Affect Your Building?

Buildings account for over 70% of greenhouse gas emissions in Boston. As part of Boston’s initiative to address climate change, the City of Boston enacted the Building Energy Reporting and Disclosure Ordinance (BERDO) in May 2013 by the Boston City Council to reduce emissions, including greenhouse gases from energy production, encourage efficient use of energy and water, and develop investment in a green economy by requiring the reporting and disclosure of annual energy and water use in all large buildings (over 35,000 square feet or have 35 units or more). The City of Boston’s 2019 Climate Action Plan Update introduced an amendment to replace the energy action and assessment requirement with a building emissions performance standard by 2021.

U.S. Energy Information Administration, 2018 Commercial Buildings Energy Consumption Survey 

Since 2013, commercial and non-commercial buildings with floor space over 50,000 square feet in Boston have been required to report their energy and water use to the City of Boston. In 2016 and 2017, non-residential and residential buildings greater than 35,000 gross square feet were added to the initiative and are also required to report their usages. In 2022, the requirement expanded and also applies to all buildings over 20,000 gross square feet.

With the enactment of BERDO 2.0, buildings must comply with a phased carbon dioxide emission standard starting in 2025, which reduces to carbon neutral by 2050. Currently, the building owner is required to self-certify the reporting data every year; however, starting with the 2025 report filed in 2026, a third-party verification will be required. The 2025 verification must include the prior five years (2021-2025) and is to be performed by a qualified Energy Professional. Third-party verifications are required every five years thereafter.

BERDO-2.0 provides carbon dioxide emission standards for a variety of building uses. For each five-year interval, the emission standard must be reduced until net-zero standard is reached in 2050. Alternative emission reduction schedules can be applied for but require compliance with a 50% reduction by 2030 and 100% by 2050. Renewable energy certificates, power purchase agreements, and alternative compliance payments can be purchased to help offset emissions.

Payments and penalties for failure to comply with this program are directed to the Equitable Emissions Investment Fund to assist the City of Boston to improve and promote low-income housing, local air quality improvement, indoor environment quality and health, and other environmental initiatives. To meet the emission reduction standards, buildings will need to employ multiple approaches including a combination of:

• Retrofitting buildings to be more energy efficient and reduce overall energy use
• Eliminating the use of fuels that cause greenhouse gas emissions (e.g., combustion of fossil fuels)
• Producing or purchasing clean energy to power building operations

In the northeast, a majority of the building stock was built prior to 2000. This is before the introduction of continuous air barriers and energy improvements to the building code. Retrofitting these buildings will be critical to the success of reducing overall carbon emissions as necessary to comply with the program.

Boston's Climate Action Plan 2019 Update

One of the first steps when considering a retrofit is to perform a building condition evaluation. An energy audit will assist in determining the best options for energy and sustainability improvements. Sometimes, considerable savings in utility costs can be gained by evaluating the performance of the existing building enclosure and building systems. Deficiencies that can contribute to inefficiencies and increased costs include building leaks, clogged/dirty filters, stuck dampers, disabled sensors, faulty or incorrect wiring, or even lack of knowledge on how to properly operate and maintain equipment. Since air leakage is a major source of energy loss, the building enclosure should be evaluated for air tightness, including looking for leaky windows, gaps around vents and pipe penetrations, and moisture intrusion. Upgrading heating and air-conditioning systems without addressing problems with the building enclosure can negatively impact the optimum performance of those systems. Other building enclosure strategies include:

• Installing solar shading devices for windows, some devices have integral photovoltaic (PV)
• Increasing exterior enclosure insulation (roof & walls)
• Replacing existing windows with high-performance windows
• Determining if natural ventilation and fresh air intake are feasible alternatives to reduce heating and cooling loads
• Investigating renewable energy options that can offset fossil fuel usage
• Considering shared on-site energy production for buildings within a campus cluster
• Determining if a cool roof or vegetated roof are cost-effective ways to reduce heat island effect and stormwater runoff
• For historic buildings, updating systems appropriately to maintain a balance between the need for energy and water savings with the character of the original building fabric

While an energy audit will identify options to save energy, the creation of a facility master plan is critical to efficiently plan for long-term energy improvements. Often, interior renovations within the building offer a great opportunity to perform thermal and air-tightness upgrades to the building enclosure and opportunity for building owners and managers to meet the environmental goals set forth by BERDO 2.0. 

Brian H. Neely, AIA, CDT, BECxP^SM
Associate and Partner, Gale Associates
Email address: [email protected]      

Brian Neely AIA, CDT, BECxP^SM, an Associate and Partner at Gale Associates, Inc., provides building enclosure design and consulting services.  He performs building enclosure evaluations and designs focused on repair, renovation, restoration and energy conservation.  His experience includes developing low-maintenance renovations and energy conservation upgrades to public and private facilities.  Mr. Neely provides building code reviews including ADA and Massachusetts Architectural Access Board Regulations.  He is actively involved with building enclosure peer review and commissioning services.