BCAN Celebrates Passage of BERDO Regulations
[Boston, MA] — Thanks to the advocacy of BCAN, the City of Boston passed the Building Emissions Reduction and Disclosure Ordinance (BERDO). BERDO is the largest step toward combatting climate change in Boston’s history. BERDO requires all buildings that are (20,000+ square feet or 15+ housing units) to reduce their emissions to net zero by 2050.
In order to ensure that BERDO is implemented equitably, the review board made up of nine volunteers has been created. Of the nine members, six must be nominated by a community based organization, two are openly nominated, and one is reserved for the Chair of the Boston City Council’s Environmental Justice, Resiliency, and Parks committee. BCAN’s Executive Director, Hessann Farooqi, has been nominated to the board by Community Labor United, New England United for Justice, Piers Park Sailing Center, Neighborhood Association of the Back Bay, and with support from Codman Square Neighborhood Development Corporation, Allston-Brighton Health Collaborative, and BCAN.
As a member of the board, Farooqi will join its eight other members in achieving four main goals. The first is to review, accept, or deny applications for flexibility measures. These measures include building portfolios, individual compliance schedules, and hardship compliance plans that allow building owners to communicate with the Review Board in order to gain flexibility in their conservation efforts. Individual compliance schedules allow businesses to create customized emissions reductions timelines that suit their historic emissions use. Building Portfolio and Individual Compliance Schedule applications are due by September 1, 2024. Hardship compliance plans offer businesses to show technical or financial hardships in order to receive an alternative emissions reduction timeline and/or more flexible reduction targets. Long term Hardship Compliance Plans are also available for groups projecting into the next four or more years until July 1, 2024. Short term Hardship Compliance Plans for four or less years are also available and due on October 1, 2024.
The Equitable Emissions Investment Fund is a new fund created under BERDO that can be used for the support, implementation, and administration of local projects. The city has set aside $750,000 for eligible nonprofits to support building decarbonization in Boston. Nonprofit organizations or organizations with a fiscal sponsor are able to propose projects that have a carbon mitigation component. The Review Board will then evaluate proposals and award up to $750,000 for each organization. This funding is not restricted to buildings affected by BERDO, as these funds were allocated to serve Environmental Justice Populations more broadly.
BCAN remains engaged in monitoring the performance of BERDO, particularly as we approach the first emissions reduction deadline in 2025. We are excited to be represented by our Executive Director in this effort. BCAN looks forward to working with our partners across City Hall and the community to ensure that concerns are addressed. Every large building owner must comply with the law to the fullest extent and work proactively to meet the needs of the residents of their neighborhood.
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BCAN 