BERDO, Building Energy Reporting and Disclosure Ordinance, is a law enacted by the City of Boston that requires owners of large buildings to annually report their energy and water usage data. This information is then made public, allowing building owners and potential buyers to see how performance compares to buildings of similar size and age. This process is known as energy benchmarking. Additionally, every five years, buildings that do not receive an ENERGY STAR® performance score higher than 75 must undergo an energy audit at the owner's cost.

The Building Energy Use Disclosure Ordinance (BEUDO) was enacted by the Cambridge City Council on July 28, 2014. The ordinance is a key step in efforts to reduce Cambridge's greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

The ordinance is intended to address this problem by requiring owners of larger buildings to track and report annual energy use to the City and publicly disclose the data. Disclosure places the information in the marketplace, where various users such as potential property buyers, tenants, realtors, energy service providers, and others can use the data and to help create value for higher energy performing properties. The data will also aid the City and others in planning for higher energy performance in our building stock.

• Behavior/operating savings
• Voluntary Upgrades
• Certifications
• Economics
• Livability

Boston owners of large commercial and multifamily residential buildings are required to comply with the law based on the following criteria:

• Nonresidential buildings that are 35,000 square feet or larger.
• Residential buildings that are 35,000 square feet or larger, or have 35 or more units.
• Any parcel with multiple buildings that sum to 100,000 square feet or 100 units.

If you own or manage government buildings in Cambridge above 10,000 square feet, commercial buildings above 25,000 square feet and/or residential buildings with more than 50 units, you must track and report your energy consumption according to the City’s compliance deadlines.

Boston building owners are required to report their building usage data by May 15th each year.

May 1 of every year for government buildings above 10,000 square feet, commercial buildings above 25,000 square feet and residential buildings with more than 50 units for Cambridge owners.

Failure to comply with the benchmarking ordinance will result in fines ranging from $35-$200 per violation, based on the size and type of building. Fines can be issued per day, with maximum fines of $3000 per year for Boston owners.

• Non-residential buildings 50,000 square feet or more - $200 per violation
• Non-residential buildings 35,000-49,999 square feet - $75 per violation
• Residential buildings with 50+ units - $200 per violation
• Residential buildings with 35-50 units - $75 per violation
• Non-residential tenants - $35 per violation

The first instance of a violation will result in a warning, subsequent violations will receive fines of $300 per day for Cambridge owners.

Building owners must report energy and water data to EPA’s Portfolio Manager, a reporting tool that allows building owners to compare their building’s energy efficiency with similar buildings, and then submit a report to the City of Boston.

Cambridge building owners must report their energy usage data to EPA’s Portfolio Manager, a reporting tool that allows building owners to compare their building’s energy efficiency with similar buildings.