Seattle BEPS

Navigate to Property → Compliance → Exposure → Seattle BEPS

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Overview

Seattle’s Building Emissions Performance Standard (BEPS) law establishes incremental emissions targets for large buildings. Most buildings must begin meeting emissions targets between 2031-2035 and reach net-zero emissions between 2041-2050.

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Seattle BEPS Resources

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Filing & Reporting

The first compliance interval is 2027–2030, which requires building owners to conduct Benchmarking Verification and complete a GHG Report. These help owners prepare plans to start taking actions to meet the 2031-2035 emissions targets. Building owners must report by Oct 1 of the years listed below, base on their building size. Benchmarking verificaiton and GHG reports must be submitted by a certified professional.

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Configuration

Follow these steps to ensure that the property is ready for compliance analysis:

1. Confirm the selected Reporting Period: Emissions calculations, penalty values, and decarb pathways all depend on the selected reporting period. Change the reporting period to see how property performance over different 12-month time frames impacts compliance.
2. Click on Details button to ensure that there is a high Data Completeness value associated with the reporting period. Data completeness should be as close to 100% as possible to ensure accurate analysis.

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Calculating Emissions Limits

A building’s emissions limit is based on the breakdown of its property uses as tracked in ESPM. Abisko automatically calculates a property’s emissions limits and transparently displays each step of the calculation process, as described below.

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ESPM Property Uses

Abisko retrieves all ESPM property uses associated with the property along with their corresponding floor areas. Users can view all property uses in the following report table, which is located near the bottom of the report.

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Property Use Type Emissions Limits

Abisko aggregates floor area by property use type and calculates emissions limits for each type and compliance period through 2050. These limits are determined by multiplying the total floor area of each property use type by its corresponding emissions factor. Click here to view the emissions factors for each ESPM property use type.

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Total Emissions Limits

The total emissions limit is calculating by taking the sum of all component property use type limits for each compliance period and dividing by the sum of all corresponding floor areas to yield a whole building emissions intensity limit. 𝐵 = Σ(𝑙_𝑘∙𝑠_𝑘) / Σ𝑙_𝑘

• B = the total building emissions limit for a building with multiple property types
• 𝑠_𝑘= the emissions factor of each given property type, k, in kgCO2e per square foot
• 𝑙_𝑘= the total floor area in square feet of each property type, k, in a covered building

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Calculating Penalties

To assess potential non-compliance penalties over time, a property’s annual energy use must be calculated for each energy subtype (e.g. electricity, natural gas, district heating), converted into annual emissions values using Seattle BEPS factors, and compared against the property’s annual emissions limit to determine any penalties. Abisko performs this entire process automatically based on the selected reporting period.

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Property Emissions

Property emissions are calculated by multiplying the total annual consumption for each energy subtype by the corresponding emissions factor and summing the results. The electricity emissions factor assumes an electric grid with lower carbon intensity over time. Click here to view the emissions factors for each energy subtype over time. At the top of the report, users can view a chart showing the property’s estimated emissions by energy subtype through 2050. All emissions are calculated using Seattle BEPS emissions factors, and users can hover over each bar to see a detailed breakdown or download the full annual dataset using the button above the chart.

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Exceedance & Penalties

Non-compliance penalties are assessed when a building’s annual greenhouse gas emissions exceed its allowed emissions limit for a given year. The penalty is based on the type of building and its size, according to the table below. The first compliance year also depends on the building size.

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Alternative Compliance Payments

For the first compliance cycle (2031-2035), building owners may make an Alternative Compliance Payment (ACP). The ACP is based on the total metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (MTCO2e) that exceeds the emissions target multiplied by $190 per MT. Users can view a plot of projected annual non-compliance penalties for each year through 2050. Abisko supplements the emissions and penalties charts with a detailed table showing Seattle BEPS property emissions, emissions limits, and estimated penalty payments for each year through 2050. Users can use this table to identify years in which the property is out of compliance and download the data for external analysis.

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Setting Custom Limits

Abisko automatically calculates emissions and emissions limits using the default methodology outlined in Seattle’s published technical guidance. In some cases, however, buildings may be subject to alternative prescribed limits, or users may wish to evaluate non-compliance penalties under different limit assumptions. To support these use cases, Abisko allows users to define custom emissions limits for each Seattle BEPS compliance period. Once custom limits are applied, Abisko automatically recalculates all compliance metrics and penalty estimates using those values. If no custom limits are defined, Abisko uses the default calculated limits.

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To Add/Edit/Delete Custom Limits

Property → Compliance → Exposure → Seattle BEPS

• Click on the Set Limits button
• Open the Emissions Limits sidebar
  • To add/edit a custom limit
    1. Hover the mouse over the row in the table for the limit you would like to edit
    2. Click the edit icon that shows itself on the right side
    3. Edit the limit and save
  • To delete a custom limit
    1. Hover the mouse over the row in the table for the limit you would like to delete
    2. Click the trash icon that shows itself on the right side to delete

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Decarbonization Pathways

Abisko enables users to evaluate the impact of proposed energy measures on property emissions within the context of Seattle BEPS. Users can model different combinations of measures and see how each scenario affects emissions and penalties through 2050. This allows users to align long-term decarbonization strategies with BPS requirements and capital planning efforts. With this feature, users can:

• Test different decarbonization pathways and their regulatory exposure
• Identify the most cost-effective emissions reduction strategies
• Prepare and submit decarbonization plans to local regulators

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Select Measures

Property → Compliance → Exposure → Seattle BEPS

• Click on the Select Measures button
• Open the Measures Selection sidebar
  Only measures with a status marked as Proposed are included for selection, since they represent measures with a potential future implementation date.
  • Check the box next to each measure that should be included in the compliance analysis
    • Check the box above the table to automatically select all measures
  • Click save after finalizing the measure selection

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Review Charts & Tables

After saving all selected measures, all charts and tables in the report will automatically update to show the impact of each measure on the property annual emissions and non-compliance penalties.

• Proposed measure impacts will begin to take effect on the calendar year following the completion date of the measure.
  • e.g. if completion date = 1/1/2031, changes begin to take effect in 2032

Impacts from measures on emissions and penalties will only show if a measure has values entered for annual energy savings:

• Absolute values entered for each energy subtype (e.g. electric, natural gas) are subtracted from the total annual consumption of that subtype for the selected reporting period.
• Percentage values entered for each energy subtype are converted to absolute values by multiplying the percentage by the total annual consumption of that subtype for the selected reporting period. The converted value is then treated as an absolute value.
• Measures are applied independently (no interactive effects) and total reductions for each energy subtype are capped by the total subtype consumption of the reporting period.
  • e.g. If 20 measures include 10% annual electricity savings, this will be capped to 100% annual electricity savings, resulting in 0 electricity-related emissions
  • Annual energy savings are additive and persist over time

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How-To Recording: Analyze Compliance

See how to review compliance, export values, set custom baselines and select measures.