Seattle’s Building Emissions Performance Standard

Under Seattle’s BEPS, signed into law in December 2023, all existing commercial and multifamily residential buildings over 20,000 square feet will need to reach net-zero emissions by 2050. Compliance starts in 2027 with reporting requirements that quantify building emissions, followed by requirements to meet emissions targets by 2031. Emissions targets will thereafter lower on a five-year basis until hitting net-zero in 2050. Meeting that target will effectively require building owners to replace oil- and gas-powered furnaces, water heaters, stoves and other appliances with electric alternatives like heat pumps and induction stoves. Some commentators have stated that this stringent of a BEPS allows Seattle another route to effectively ban gas appliances, after the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals struck down the nation’s first gas ban in Berkeley, CA.