Skip to main content

City of BostonA prototype of Analyze Boston by Datopian, not an official City of Boston website. Visit Boston.gov

Analyze Boston

Building Emissions Reduction and Disclosure Ordinance (BERDO)

Environment Department

Updated Oct 1, 2026

Update frequency: Annual

About this dataset

Amended in 2021, the Building Emissions Reduction and Disclosure Ordinance (BERDO) aims to reduce air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions generated by large buildings in Boston. BERDO gives the City of Boston authority to set emissions standards for large existing buildings, including residential buildings with 15 or more units and non-residential buildings that are 20,000 square feet or larger.

The emissions standards set by BERDO decrease over time, with all buildings expected to reach net-zero emissions by 2050. BERDO encourages retrofits, energy efficiency improvements, fuel switching, and renewable energy generation in local buildings.

BERDO applies to the following buildings:

  • Residential buildings that have 15 or more units.
  • Non-residential buildings that are 20,000 square feet or larger.
  • Any tax parcel with multiple buildings that sum to at least 20,000 square feet or 15 units.

Every year by May 15, covered building owners need to report the total energy and water use of their buildings from the previous calendar year. The City of Boston is required to annually disclose BERDO reported data from the previous year.

Please note:
  • Reported data from 2021 and earlier was reported under the old Building Energy Reporting and Disclosure Ordinance, which applied to buildings 35,000 square feet and above or 25 units or above. The prior iteration of BERDO required energy and water reporting, but did not include emissions reduction requirements.
  • Usage figures reported in these datasets are provided by building owners and have not been independently verified by the City of Boston.
  • This dataset will be updated periodically with usage figures which are submitted or revised after the official reporting deadline.
  • The compliance map reflects buildings' status as of the reporting deadline in the most recent year, and late submissions will remain marked as out of compliance even if usage figures have subsequently been added to the dataset.
  • Reports for buildings which show "Not Available" values in one or more fields are pending revision and will be updated when additional data becomes available.

Data and resources (25)

Prototype by Datopian · not an official government website · data from data.boston.gov