On December 12, 2023 the Seattle City Council voted unanimously to pass Building Emissions Performance Standards (BEPS), a landmark climate policy to transition large multi-family and commercial buildings away from fossil fuels and to clean electricity. Under the policy, existing buildings over 20,000 square feet in Seattle will be required to start reducing their greenhouse gas emissions incrementally beginning in 2031, with all covered commercial buildings reaching net zero emissions by 2045 and all multifamily buildings by 2050.
Buildings are the second largest source of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the City of Seattle, and currently account for 37% of the city’s climate pollution, with commercial and multifamily buildings making up the majority of these emissions. The policy allows for building owners to have multiple pathways to achieving their greenhouse gas reduction targets, offering flexibility to account for different building types and needs.
Shift Zero members worked tirelessly over the past year to advocate and ensure a strong, effective BEPS. Thank you to Seattle’s Office of Sustainability and Environment for their leadership in developing this policy, and to Councilmember Herbold for championing it through City Council. The many voices in support in the City Council hearings included doctors, grandparents, architects, engineers, electricians, sheet metal workers, college students, affordable housing advocates, climate activists, and more.
Rulemaking will begin next year and Shift Zero members will engage at all levels to support equitable implementation of BEPS.
Building performance standard policies continue to be a central part of climate policy efforts in cities across the US, and Seattle’s policy expands on Washington’s statewide building performance standard, which requires buildings to become more energy efficient over time, first passed in 2019 and expanded in 2022 to include benchmarking requirements for all buildings over 20,000 square feet including multifamily housing.
A growing number of states have adopted and are considering building performance standard policies. Seattle’s BEPS, along with similar policies in New York City, Boston, Washington DC, and Colorado, are models for cities, counties, and states across the country to address a significant source of emissions from existing large buildings.
Shift Zero 