Building Energy Use Disclosure Ordinance

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.

Energy use in buildings accounts for about 80% of GHG emissions in Cambridge, with two-thirds of the total related to commercial, institutional, and large multifamily buildings. However, efforts to improve the energy performance of our building stock are hampered by the invisible nature of energy use.

The Ordinance is intended to address this problem by requiring owners of larger buildings to track and report annual energy use to the City, as well as to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions on a schedule determined by the size and type of their building. Amendments to the Ordinance passed in 2023 will require large non-residential buildings to reach Net Zero Emissions by 2035, while small non-residential buildings must reach Net Zero Emissions by 2050.

Details regarding the timelines for all new and existing buildings that qualify as a BEUDO Covered Property are outlined in the text of the Ordinance.

Additional information on the recently passed amendments and their implications for covered property owners can be found in this 2023 Memo.

BEUDO is a foundational strategy for various community sustainability initiatives, including the Community Compact for a Sustainable Future, Kendall Square Ecodistrict, and Net Zero Action Plan.

The City will review reports as they are submitted, and conduct basic quality assurance checks and work with you to resolve any issues. Eversource continues to facilitate reporting by providing aggregated energy use data for buildings through their Energy Data Portal.

May 1 is the annual deadline to submit BEUDO reports for data covering the previous calendar year. Please reference our comprehensive Fact Sheet regarding the process for reporting your data. If you have any questions, please contact BEUDO@cambridgema.gov. To receive updates about BEUDO, please sign up for the email list.

The Community Development Department is currently in the process of developing regulations to guide the recently amended BEUDO ordinance. Certain aspects of the regulatory development process will involve input from the community and other stakeholders – if you would like to be informed of these opportunities for involvement, please sign up for the BEUDO list serve here.

Focus areas for the first phase of regulations development include emission factors, renewable energy procurement, and data verfication. The City of Cambridge has held multiple stakeholder engagement meetings on these topics, and will continue to send information and invitations to anyone registered for the BEUDO list serve.

July 25th, 2024: The City, along with contracted consultant Synapse Energy Economics, hosted a meeting to discuss plans for finalizing the methodology and considerations for calculating emission factors for all energy use types in BEUDO buildings. You may view the recording of this meeting here.

City Council

On December 18, 2023, City Council voted not to approve further amendments, which would affect new building timelines, to the BEUDO ordinance.

On June 26, 2023, the updated amendment language was voted upon by City Council, with the amendments being adopted as written. A separate amendment to exclude all residential properties from emissions reduction requirements was also passed.

On April 26, 2023, City Council voted to move the proposed amendment language to BEUDO for a two week reading to further review the content and present feedback to the Community Development Department.

Committee Hearings

The Ordinance Committee held a public hearing to continue the April 12th discussion on the proposed amendments to the Building Energy Use Disclosure Ordinance on Wednesday, April 26, 2023 at 3:00pm EST. Information and links to join virtually can be found here.

Public Forums

City staff hosted a public forum on September 15, 2022 to discuss proposed amendments to BEUDO.

2023 Data Reporting

For the 2023 BEUDO reporting year, the due date for submitting energy benchmarking reports will be May 1, 2024. If any reporters find that they need more time, the City will work with reporters to provide additional time. The City appreciates the efforts of property owners and managers to benchmark and report their annual energy use under the ordinance given the circumstances during the pandemic.

Subscribe To Our Newsletter

Stay up to date with Energy Compliance issues and changes.

Building Energy Use Disclosure Ordinance

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.

City Council

Committee Hearings

Public Forums

2023 Data Reporting

Subscribe To Our Newsletter

+1 877-892-0217

Quick Menu

Quick Menu

Services

Services

Quick Menu

Quick Menu

Services

Services

© 2025 Insight Energy Consulting. All Rights Reserved.

Request a Quote

Request a Quote