Cambridge has committed to becoming carbon neutral by 2050 or sooner. A major first step in accomplishing this goal has been to first measure, then over time eliminate net carbon emissions from the city’s large and medium-sized non-residential buildings. Small businesses and residential buildings are not covered by emission reduction requirements.

Cambridge’s Building Energy Use Disclosure Ordinance (BEUDO) Amendments passed in June 2023. These amendments set a rigorous set of steps and deadlines for reaching carbon neutrality by 2035 for non-residential buildings 100,000 square feet or larger and by 2050 for non-residential buildings 25,000 square feet or larger.  

The City is creating detailed regulations in multiple phases for how to comply with BEUDO. The first phase of regulations related to how emissions for buildings are calculated (“emissions factors”) and the types of renewable energy that can be applied to a building's electricity use. These regulations were published in December 2024.

Phase 2 of regulations development has focused on the following topics as they relate to compliance with the BEUDO Ordinance:

• Third Party Data Verification
• Property and Ownership Configuration
• Alternative Baseline Selection and Calculation
• Updates to Emission Factors and Renewable Energy purchasing

Updates to the official Regulations and Procedures are now published on the BEUDO Website. June 2, 2025 marks the beginning of a 30-day comment period. During this comment period, the City invites feedback from all stakeholders regarding the regulations. To easily submit feedback, visit the official comment submission page.