Robert Khodadadian – Commercial Observer

The bill was announced in June 2023, though conversations about building decarbonization legislation have been ongoing for a few years.

The policy, like many of the United States’ local building emissions laws, focuses on greenhouse gas emissions. The Seattle law outlines plans for large buildings to reduce their emissions by roughly 325,000 tons by 2050. These buildings include existing commercial and multifamily buildings more than 20,000 square feet. 

By that 2050 goal post, the policy intends to reduce building emissions by 27 percent, compared to a 2008 starting point. The policy would simultaneously limit Seattle’s total emissions by roughly 10 percent.

“This bold legislation will not only create cleaner buildings for people to live, work and play in, but also hundreds of local jobs and build pathways to careers in the green economy,” Mayor Harrell said in a statement published Wednesday by the Office of the Mayor. 

Reporting requirements begin in 2027, and most larger buildings are expected to fulfill the first emission reduction targets by 2031. The emission targets will then gradually decrease over five-year intervals and ultimately land on net-zero by 2050. Low-income housing and human services buildings, however, will be allocated more time to prepare for BEPS; neither are required to meet targets through 2035.

Although the bill has just passed in Seattle, it follows a precedent set by cities across the country. New York City knows Local Law 97, while Washington, D.C., uses the Building Energy Performance Standards (BEPS); Cambridge, Mass obeys the Building Energy Use Disclosure Ordinance (BEUDO); and Boston adheres to the Building Emissions Reduction and Disclosure Ordinance (BERDO).

On a larger scale, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) proposed climate-related disclosure guidelines for greater emissions transparency in 2022. That proposal has yet to be passed, though a vote is slated for April 2024. There’s no guarantee that the vote will occur, however, as indicated by the SEC’s track record of repeat delays.

Just as carbon policies are not new to the United States, they’re likewise not the only avenue to greener cities. In November, the Seattle Municipal Tower — a 62-story structure that is Seattle’s largest city-owned building — went all in on all-electric energy, halting its use of fossil fuels. About 10 private buildings of similar size in Seattle are all-electric.  On the legislative end, Seattle’s climate endeavors also include Washington State’s Clean Buildings Act, which was passed in 2019. 

Seattle’s Office of Sustainability and the Environment did not immediately respond to Commercial Observer’s requests for comment. 

Anna Staropoli can be reached at astaropoli@commercialobserver.com.