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Glossary
Energy standards and regulation

What is BERDO 2.0?

Definition

BERDO 2.0 is Boston's Building Emissions Reduction and Disclosure Ordinance as amended in 2021, requiring large buildings to report energy and water use and meet declining emissions standards.

Buildings in scope

Per the City of Boston, it covers non-residential buildings of 20,000 square feet or more, residential buildings with 15 or more units, and tax parcels whose buildings together reach either threshold. Emissions standards start in 2025 for non-residential buildings of 35,000 square feet or more and residential buildings with 35 or more units, and in 2030 for the smaller covered buildings.

Deadlines and payments

  • Energy and water use for the prior calendar year is reported by 15 May each year
  • Third-party verification applies to the first emissions compliance year and every five years after
  • Alternative compliance payments are $234 per metric ton of CO2e above the limit
  • All covered buildings are expected to reach net zero emissions by 2050

Water and energy records Aqueduct keeps for BERDO

BERDO asks for water as well as energy, so the aQ WaterGuard total per building carries the same weight as the electricity feed. Aqueduct holds both by building and month, and the connectivity record for each device shows a verifier which months came from complete interval data and which came from utility bills.

Questions

BERDO 2.0: common questions

BERDO 2.0 is Boston's building performance standard, administered by the City of Boston's Environment Department. It combines yearly energy and water disclosure with emissions limits that step down over time toward net zero. It belongs to the wider family of building performance standards now adopted by several US cities.

No. The city treats it as a compliance option, and the money goes to decarbonization projects in Boston's environmental justice communities. Owners still weigh it against the cost of retrofits, which is why measured savings from each project matter when the next compliance period is planned.

Yes. A mixed-use building may adopt a blended emissions standard based on the floor area of each use. That makes accurate floor area and sub-metered consumption by use important, because the blended limit only helps if the owner can show where the energy actually goes in each part of the building.

A full calendar year of energy by fuel and whole-building water use, reported through ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager. Aqueduct supplies monthly totals for both from meters and bills, with gaps flagged, so the owner or verifier can complete benchmarking without chasing missing invoices.

See Aqueduct on your own facility.

Bring a site, a utility bill or a question. We will show you where the loss is.

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