By Madeline Buscone & Sydney Jenkins
Massachusetts is targeting net zero emissions by 2050, with a corresponding goal of reducing emissions to 50% below the 1990 baseline by 2030. Meeting these goals will require reducing emissions from buildings, which contribute 54% of the state’s primary energy budget. Pollution-free buildings will not only benefit the environment, but will lower construction costs, reduce utility bills, and eliminate dangerous household pollutants.
To promote sustainability in the building sector, Massachusetts currently offers three types of building energy codes: the Base Code, the Stretch Code, and the Specialized Opt-in Code. The Specialized Code is a municipal opt-in code that adds some requirements to the Stretch Code and ensures that new construction and major renovations, for both residential and commercial buildings, are consistent with achieving net-zero emissions by 2050. The Opt-In Code can be adopted by any of the 351 cities and towns in Massachusetts through a vote, either by a city council or at a Town Meeting. So far, Cambridge, Somerville, Watertown, Brookline, Newton, and Wellesley have voted to join the program. These six municipalities are all largely affluent, and The Massachusetts Climate Action Network (MCAN) is engaging with smaller environmental justice communities to educate residents about the Specialized Opt-In code.
Additionally, Massachusetts recently created a program to encourage green buildings: the Municipal Fossil Fuel Free Building Demonstration Program. This program allows a select number of municipalities to ban fossil fuels in new construction and major renovations. The selected communities—Cambridge, Newton, Brookline, Lexington, Arlington, Concord, Lincoln, Acton, and Aquinnah—are all affluent and lack racial or socioeconomic diversity, and notably constitute less than 6% of Massachusetts residents. However, Bill H.3227, under consideration this year, would allow any interested communities to participate in the program. In order for all Massachusetts residents to have equitable access to the health, economic, and sustainability benefits associated with green buildings, this program should be expanded to any municipalities that want to participate. Community support for H.3227 will therefore help promote a better future for both our planet and our local communities.
More information about The Municipal Opt-in Specialized Stretch Energy Code can be found at: https://www.mass.gov/info-details/stretch-energy-code-development-2022#final-code-language-for-stretch-code-update-and-new-specialized-stretch-code-#final-code-language-for-stretch-code-update-and-new-specialized-stretch-code- and https://www.mass.gov/doc/2023-stretch-energy-and-municipal-opt-in-specialized-building-code-faq/download. More information about the Municipal Fossil Fuel Free Building Demonstration Program can be found at: https://www.mass.gov/info-details/municipal-fossil-fuel-free-building-demonstration-program
Sources:
- https://www.mass.gov/high-performance-buildings
- https://www.mass.gov/info-details/stretch-energy-code-development-2022#final-code-language-for-stretch-code-update-and-new-specialized-stretch-code-#final-code-language-for-stretch-code-update-and-new-specialized-stretch-code-
- https://www.cambridgema.gov/CDD/zoninganddevelopment/sustainabledevelopment/fossilfuelfreedemo
- https://energynews.us/2023/08/03/more-massachusetts-cities-seek-to-ban-gas-citing-lack-of-diversity-in-pilot-and-urgency-of-climate-crisis/
- https://malegislature.gov/Bills/193/HD2971
- https://www.mass.gov/doc/2023-stretch-energy-and-municipal-opt-in-specialized-building-code-faq/download
- https://www.cambridgema.gov/CDD/zoninganddevelopment/sustainabledevelopment/stretchcode
- https://hbrama.com/2023/03/municipalities-begin-adoption-of-specialized-stretch-energy-code/