San Francisco Greenhouse Gas Laws

San Francisco Building Energy Performance Ordinance (BEPO)

San Francisco’s Building Energy Performance Ordinance (BEPO) sets benchmarking standards and reporting for certain building classifications across the city. BEPO was implemented in 2011 and is the long-standing building energy law in the city. Its implementation was caused by a motivation to understand the city’s energy efficiency and monitor the results.

The ordinance requires buildings to conduct an energy audit, retro-commissioning, or decarbonization assessment and submit to the city every 5 years.

The ordinance applies to:

• Commercial buildings with 10,000 sq. ft. of conditioned space
• Multifamily buildings with 50,000 sq. ft. of conditioned space

San Francisco Building Performance Standard (BPS)

The San Francisco Building Performance Standard (BPS) is the next generation of the city’s energy-efficiency regulation for buildings. Similar to BEPO, the BPS is expected to take it one step further. BPS is expected to set standards for commercial buildings rather than merely benchmark. BPS will set performance targets and may periodically fine owners who are out of compliance, similar to LL97. BPS is expected to be implemented in 2028. It will revolve around:

• Greenhouse gas emissions
• Energy use intensity (EUI)
• Fossil fuel consumption
• Decarbonization milestones

In 2024, San Francisco and Berkeley were awarded a $14M federal grant from the U.S. Department of Energy to advance the decarbonization agenda.