Boston's Climate Action Plan

Boston’s iconic John Hancock Tower.

We’ve explored NYC’s groundbreaking Climate Mobilization Act, and now it’s time to turn to Boston’s Climate Action Plan.

Carbon neutral by 2050

Boston’s Mayor Walsh set a goal of making Boston carbon neutral by 2050. Buildings and transportation make up 99 percent of Boston’s carbon emissions, and the Climate Action Plan primarily focuses on these carbon sources.

For buildings, new construction is transitioning to zero-net carbon.

For existing buildings, which contribute more than 70 percent of Boston’s carbon emissions, the Building Energy Reporting and Disclosure Ordinance (BERDO) has two goals:

1.    Make building owners, tenants, and other stakeholder more aware of their energy usage and greenhouse gas emissions through public annual reporting.

2.    Reduce carbon emissions through audits and actions every five years.

Building Energy Reporting and Disclosure Ordinance (BERDO)

Like New York City, certain building types and sizes account for the greatest amount of carbon pollution, and are regulated under the City’s ordinance:

• Non-residential buildings 35,000 square feet or larger.

• Residential buildings 35,000 square feet or larger or with 35 or more units.

• Any parcel with multiple buildings that sum to 100,000 square feet or 100 units.

As of 2019, these buildings must also conduct an energy assessment or take an energy action every five years.

The Climate Action Plan requires either an improvement in the regulated building’s Energy Star rating by at least 15 points or a reduction of at least 15 percent of the building’s annual:

• Energy usage.

• Energy use intensity.

• Greenhouse gas emissions.

• Greenhouse gas intensity.

The reduction’s benchmark is based on the annual reporting over the previous five years.

Building owners can achieve the required reduction through:

• Energy efficiency improvements.

• On-site renewable energy projects or off-site renewable energy purchases.

Looking up from the Freedom Trail.

Where do windows fit in?

High performance windows, even for landmarked buildings, can help meet the 15 percent reduction in energy usage or a 15-point increase in the Energy Star rating. Our New England Team, together with our manufacturing partners, can create bespoke high performance windows for virtually any application, including net-zero new construction projects.

High time for high performance

The law

Last year the New York City Council passed a package of laws called The Climate Mobilization Act. The package of laws includes items relating to financing, renewable energy generation and storage, and green roofs. 

Local Law 97, otherwise known as the Building Emissions Law, is the cornerstone of the groundbreaking legislation. Buildings contribute nearly 70 percent of NYC’s carbon emissions, and they’re responsible for about 95 percent of electricity use in the city, much of which is used for heating and cooling. 

Go big or go home

The City’s goal is to reduce overall carbon emissions by 80 percent by 2050. It’s one of the most ambitious climate change laws on the books. The City’s first big milestone arrives in 2030: by then, New York buildings will need to collectively cut their carbon emissions by 40 percent. Intermediate reductions begin in 2024.

An estimated 50,000 residential and commercial buildings are subject to a carbon cap, or intensity limit (measured in metric tons of carbon dioxide per square foot). Buildings larger than 25,000 square feet in the 10 Building Code Occupancy Groups are regulated under the law. Mixed-use buildings have limits that reflect their specific percentage of occupancy groups. Income-limited units and hospitals are regulated differently with a separate timeline. 

Unlike many other cities with climate change laws, the carbon caps are enforceable in New York City. Building owners will be levied fines of $268 for every ton of carbon dioxide over their cap. Go one ton over, and it’s a nominal fee. But some of the city’s biggest carbon emitters could face penalties of $1 million or more if they don’t comply with the new regulations. Skipping required reporting will also result in hefty monthly fines.

Where the rubber meets the road

Initial carbon savings can be achieved through operational and controls changes. Urban Green estimates those adjustments will require an investment of $1.75- to $2.7-billion.

However, the vast majority of carbon savings will come from infrastructure retrofits to the tune of $14.8- to $21.6-billion. 

Windows can be a big part of that savings equation. There’s a reason the Empire State Building built a temporary window factory onsite to retrofit 6,514 double-hung windows with high performance models ten years ago. That move reduced energy costs for the iconic Art Deco landmark by more than $400,000 per year. 

Broken, single pane, or even older replacement windows can be swapped out for high performance units that utilize low-e coatings to reduce thermal gain or argon-filled panes to improve the insulating capacity. Not only does this save carbon emissions, but it saves on heating and cooling bills and improves occupant comfort.  

The Climate Mobilization Act recognizes the immense financial investment required to reduce the City’s carbon footprint. It included a Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) financing tool to offer building owners up to 100 percent funding for energy efficiency and renewable energy projects. The PACE loan has low interest rates, repayment terms of 30 years, and little to no upfront costs. The loans are repaid through the property’s tax bill, do not balloon, and remain with the building upon sale. 

Modern materials and technologies mean that retrofitting or replacing windows doesn’t mean sacrificing aesthetics. Historical Windows has a deep stable of high performance windows and doors for new construction, Landmark, and contemporary projects.