Boston Updates 2014 Climate Action Plan
February 5, 2015
In January, the City of Boston released the Greenovate Boston 2014 Climate Action Plan Update, which represents a significant update in both breadth and depth on issues related to reducing greenhouse gas emissions and preparing the City for the potential impacts of future sea level rise and severe storms. The release of the Climate Action Plan (CAP) represented the culmination of a yearlong public and community engagement process that featured stakeholder working sessions on report sections related to Neighborhoods, Large Buildings and Institutions, Transportation, Climate Preparedness, and 80x50 (80% reduction by 2050). ABC was honored to lead the effort of the Large Buildings and Institutions (LBI) Working Group. According to the CAP update, the LBI sector has made significant progress through 2014. The sector has decreased energy use by 4.1%; steam provides roughly 10% of LBI energy use; and the sector has installed over 14 MW of solar throughout the city. As the LBI sector represents approximately half of the city’s GHG emissions, the ultimate success of the City reaching its goal of a 25% reduction in GHG emissions by 2020 will depend greatly on how the LBI sector continues to increase efficiency and reduce emissions. To help accomplish this, the CAP lays out several new strategies for the sector, several of which were advocated for by ABC and help strengthen the importance of voluntary programs like ABC’s Challenge for Sustainability, including: - Expand engagement for targeted efficiency: Work with third-party organizations to engage building owners with opportunities for energy efficiency - Support financing of energy efficiency: Assess and address LBI energy efficiency financing needs and advocate at state level for on-bill utility financing and C-PACE programs - Develop tenant fit-out incentives: Work with utilities to identify efficiency incentives for the fit-out of commercial tenant spaces - Expand engagement for voluntary efficiency actions: Encourage energy-efficient actions - Facilitate peer-to-peer learning: Enable institutions within each sector to learn about successful efficiency work through pilots, workshops, and case studies - Explore green leasing: Work with stakeholders to examine innovative green leasing strategies ABC, through its Sustainability & Climate Change Committee, Challenge for Sustainability program, and staffing of the Commercial Real Estate Working Group for the Boston Green Ribbon Commission, will continue to lead efforts on behalf of the commercial real estate sector to engage the City of Boston on moving forward many of these recommendations.
