Building Energy Use Disclosure Ordinance (BEUDO)

Who BEUDO Covers I What BEUDO Requires I Resources I BEUDO Development I Data and Analysis

Cambridge has committed to eliminating its emissions of greenhouse gasses — the carbon pollution that causes climate change.

Buildings that use fossil fuels are one of the biggest sources of carbon pollution. That's why many cities have implemented building performance standards.

In Cambridge, buildings account for 80 percent of all emissions. The Building Energy Use Disclosure Ordinance requires certain properties to track, report, and reduce their emissions. For a detailed explanation of how BEUDO policies and regulations developed, visit the BEUDO Development page.

This page includes the latest BEUDO information, policies, documents, and resources. It will walk you through the basics of how BEUDO works, and what's required of building owners. To learn more about the process and get involved, sign up for the BEUDO newsletter.

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The Latest

Cambridge Rolls Out Support for Building Owners as Emission Requirements Begin:

City staff are contacting property owners to help them prepare for the new emission reduction requirements. They're also introducing new tools and resources, including:

A BEUDO Development page that details the ordinance's phases and history.
A tool to look up covered properties.
A Story Map with BEUDO data and analysis.

Policy Documents

The Building Energy Use Disclosure Ordinance, originally passed in 2014 and amended in 2023, outlines the overarching requirements for energy use disclosure in buildings, and sets the high-level definitions, goals, and scope of the policy.

BEUDO Regulations explain how the Ordinance is applied, including technical specifics. The redlines version is here.

BEUDO Procedures provide additional details on how emissions are calculated, with deadlines and specific requirements for building owners

Learn More

Resources

Email BEUDO@cambridgema.gov for one-on-one support.

Visit the BEUDO BEAM Platform for help mapping and validating data.

BEUDO Checklist

BEUDO Reporting Guide

BEUDO Technical Guide: Covered Properties

BEUDO Technical Guide: Establishing Baselines

BEUDO Technical Guide: Emission Factors

BEUDO Technical Guide: Renewable Electricity

Who BEUDO Covers

A screenshot of the City's online tool to map and search for BEUDO-covered properties. Click the button in this section to reach the tool.

BEUDO applies to a specific area of land, called a parcel, that may contain one or more buildings. A parcel deemed to fall under BEUDO is called a "covered property."

Property Type	Size	Must Report Data?	Year Required to Start Reducing Emissions	Year Net Zero Must Be Attained
Non-residential covered properties	100,000 or more covered sq ft	Yes	2026	2035
Non-residential covered properties	25,000 to 100,000 covered sq ft	Yes	2030	2050
Non-residential parcels	Less than 25,000 covered sq ft	No	Not required	Not required
Residential properties	50 or more units	Yes	Not required	Not required

Covered Properties Lookup

What BEUDO Requires

BEUDO sets targets for existing, new, and renovated buildings to improve their energy performance and reduce carbon emissions. Each property's emissions for a current reporting period are measured against the same property's emissions over a specific past time period.

Owners of all properties covered by BEUDO are required to report their data annually. Non-residential properties must show that their greenhouse gasses have lowered in comparison to their past performance. Residential properties do not currently have requirements to show emissions reductions.

This is a general overview of the steps in the process. Click to expand and see more information for each step.

Gather Your Information

The City sends a packet out to each covered property with the information you'll need, including:
- An address for each BEUDO Covered Property, along with the number of units and the Covered Square Footage.
- The Building ID for each building on your Covered Property. A Building ID is a unique number used to identify each building on a parcel when reporting energy use. Visit this page to look up your number.
Request information from your utility.
- If Eversource is your utility, use the Eversource Data Portal.

Plan How Your Property's Emissions Will Be Measured

Establish your property configuration and notify the City.
- Under the Default Property Configuration, multiple buildings on the same parcel must comply with BEUDO as one Covered Property. If certain criteria are met, owners can apply for alternative configurations that separate parcels into groupings of buildings, or let buildings with residential areas exclude those areas from emissions reduction requirements. Refer to the Quick Guide for more information on this important topic.
Establish your baseline.
- A baseline is the average greenhouse gas emissions for two consecutive years between 2010 and 2019. Your baseline will determine how much your emissions must decrease. The default baseline years for existing buildings are 2018-2019. For buildings built or renovated after 2018, the baseline years are the first two years after receiving a Certificate of Occupancy.
- Owners must confirm the years of data that will be used as the baseline once the Covered Property is settled.
Understand your requirements.
- If your Covered Property is non-residential and more than or equal to 100,000 covered square feet, you'll need to start reducing your emissions in 2026. Your Covered Property will have to show a 20% reduction in emissions within the first Compliance Period of 2026-2029.
- If your Covered Property is between 25,000 and 99,999 covered square feet, you need to stay below your baseline for the first Compliance Period. In the next Compliance Period, from 2030 to 2034, your emissions must reduce by 40%.
- Residential properties still need to submit annual emissions data, but do not have reduction requirements under BEUDO.

Verify Your Data

Non-residential properties must have their emissions and water use data verified by a credible third party. BEUDO buildings are required to verify their emissions data for the years that establish their baseline, as well as the first year of each compliance period.

Submit Your Information

By May 1st each year, report energy and water use from the previous calendar year through the ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager platform.

Reducing Emissions

The City of Cambridge recognizes that reducing building emissions is a complex and often challenging process, especially for property owners and managers balancing many priorities. That’s why we are deeply committed to being a partner in this work — providing not only clear requirements, but also the tools, guidance, and technical support needed to meet them.

Our goal is to ensure that every building owner, regardless of size or resources, can successfully navigate the transition to cleaner, more efficient buildings.

To explore interactive charts and maps that detail sources of emissions in Cambridge and BEUDO compliance, visit the Data and Analysis Story Map.

Data and Analysis