Cambridge Net Zero Action Plan

The Path to a Net Zero Cambridge

In 2015, Cambridge adopted the Net Zero Action Plan (NZAP) to serve as a roadmap for achieving carbon neutrality in buildings by 2050. The plan includes strategies to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, improve energy efficiency, and support renewable energy development. In 2020, the City began a 5-year review to evaluate progress to date and developed an updated NZAP. Explore the page below to learn more about the parts of the NZAP Update and its role in helping Cambridge achieve carbon neutrality. Learn more about the actions in the 5-Year Update Report below or by downloading the full NZAP 2021 Update Report. For more on the NZAP development process, see the NZAP Project webpage.

This page currently highlights the activity that was made during Fiscal Year 2023 which ran from July 1, 2022 through June 30, 2023.

Net Zero Action Plan

Reduce, Replace, Renewables

There are several key ways to reduce emissions from buildings, as the graphic here illustrates. We must use less energy by investing in energy efficiency (Reduce), use cleaner energy by replacing fossil fuel-based appliances and building systems with electric versions (Replace), and ensure that all our our electricity is generated with renewable, zero emissions sources like solar and wind (Renewables).

Cambridge's Net Zero Action Plan uses these three strategies to drive emissions down. Action Areas 1 and 2 focus on Reducing and Replacing, while Action Area 3 focuses on Renewables. Action Area 4 supports all actions by securing funding and capacity for implementation. 

NZAP Action Table

Click on each of the Action Areas below to learn more about the activities we'll undertake to get to net zero.

For each activity, the timeline corresponds to the following number of years:

  • Short: 1-2 years
  • Medium: 3-5 years
  • Long: 5+ years

Net Zero Action Plan

Defining Net Zero

Residents, universities, businesses and the City are collaborating to reduce energy use in buildings and increase access to renewable energy. Cambridge has set a "net zero" target for all buildings in the community, and has created a "Net Zero Action Plan" to outline strategies to help each building reach the net zero emissions goal. You can see how we define net zero in the graphic to the left. 

Fiscal Year 2023 Status Report

The City of Cambridge has made progress on the goals of the Net Zero Action Plan since it was introduced. This report outlines the progress and next steps of the NZAP actions from July 2022 through June 2023.

Cambridge buildings
Indicator Status Chart

Legend

Implementation Status Indicators

To track the progress of each Action in the NZAP, Cambridge has assigned a graphic that will appear in the "Implementation Status" component of the Action. The implementation status means where Cambridge is in working on the steps of each action as it relates to the timeline created for that action. The timeline was formally adopted in January 2023 with the updated 5-Year Plan.

The green light (top left) indicates that the action is on track with the timeline adopted in 2023.

The yellow light (top right) indicates that the action is delayed in its timeline from 2023 but is making progress. 

The red light (bottom left) indicates the action is stalled and is not currently making progress.

The parking sign (bottom right) indicates that the action is not currently in progress.

Equity and Resilience Badges

Legend

Equity and Resilience Badges

This report covers the activity that happened in fiscal year 2023 which ran from July 1, 2022 through June 30, 2023. Every 5-years the City will evaluate and review the Net Zero Action Plan. As part of the most recent review, which was adopted in January 2023 and was started in 2021, the City assessed NZAP actions to ensure the plan's benefits and burdens are equally distributed. As a result of the review, actions were updated and the overlap between implementation and cross-cutting themes was taken into consideration. Some issues could be influenced by multiple actions. These themes were equity and resiliency, energy resilience, and the renewable thermal energy transition. Each of these themes was heavily weighed when thinking through possible adjustments. Continuously reflecting upon these issues allowed us to create actions that work to enhance a fair and just clean energy transition, improve resiliency in the community, and have in place resources to implement this plan.

These badges seen in each Action Area overview indicate that the actions covered bring resilience and equity opportunities to Cambridge. 

Action Summary Table

This table shows the current status of each action and whether or not each action has an equity and/or resilience impact. 

Action Summary Table

Overview

Action Area 1: Energy Efficiency (Existing Buildings)

Cambridge has grown a lot in recent years. This has led to a big increase in energy demand. The transition to a low-carbon energy supply cannot happen without the more efficient use of energy in existing buildings. As people switch equipment that combusts fossil fuels on-site to equipment that uses cleaner electric energy, such as heat pumps, induction cooktops, and electric water heaters demand for grid-supplied electricity will continue to grow. 

Our goal is for the full decarbonization of the building stock in Cambridge. Achieving this requires the installation of energy efficient equipment and ensuring that buildings across the city are well insulated and weatherized. Three actions within the Energy Efficiency Action Area are working toward increasing the efficiency of our buildings through a variety of mandatory and voluntary programs and policies. Some of these actions were assigned SMART goals which were adopted as part of the NZAP 5-year update. This section covers activity that happened in FY23 which ran from July 1, 2022 through June 30, 2023.

Action Area 1 Table

Timeline

Action Area 1: Energy Efficiency (Existing Buildings)

Action Area 1 table
Smart Goals and Implementation Status

On Track

Equity
Resilience

Custom Retrofit Program for Residential and Small Commercial

Action 1.1 Implementation Status

The activities for Action 1.1 Custom Retrofit Program are on track. In January 2023, with the adoption of the 5-year NZAP update SMART goals were assigned to Action 1.1. In FY23, staff continued to evaluate the impact of the Multifamily Retrofit Advisor Program. The program saw 12 buildings covering 536 units engage with the program.

Also in FY23, Staff launched a pilot program for multifamily buildings with the organization, BlocPower. This pilot program gave building owners and tenant’s access to an instant building report that highlighted opportunities for energy efficient upgrades and provide project financing through BlocPower. This pilot has an established goal to help electrify 10 to 15 multifamily buildings. The pilot is expected to conclude in FY24.

Custom Retrofit Program for Residential and Small Commercial

Action 1.1 Next Steps, Challenges, and Opportunities

The City closed the Multi-family Retrofit Advisor and the Cambridge Clean Heat (Action 3.1) program on June 30, 2023. These programs were replaced by the Electrify Cambridge program which launched in July 2023. This program expands on the original offerings of the Multi-family Advisory and Clean Heat programs by providing technical advice on more technologies and offers a single, cohesive brand for all of CEA’s home energy programs.

Financing is a barrier for residential energy upgrades. An opportunity for project financing if being offered through a pilot partnership with the clean energy startup, BlocPower. The program design will emphasize improved tracking and data access to measure results, though lack of direct data control remains a key challenge. This data will be integrated with the other Cambridge Energy Alliance program tracking information and shared via the Sustainability Dashboard.

Smart Goals and Implementation Status

Delayed

Equity

Building Energy Use Disclosure Ordinance

Action 1.2. Implementation Status

The activities for this action are currently delayed. In November 2021, the City Manager submitted draft amendments to City Council on the Building Energy Use Disclosure Ordinance (BEUDO). These amendments were adopted in the summer of 2023 and require all BEUDO properties to phase down their emissions in steps over time to reach net zero by 2050. 

In FY23 staff established a new data platform for BEUDO reporting which will allow for more streamlined reporting, analysis, and disclosure of data under the current ordinance and potential future performance requirements. A new, full-time employee was hired to manage the BEUDO reporting, data management, and compliance process.

Building Energy Use Disclosure Ordinance

Action 1.2 Next Steps, Challenges, and Opportunities

The City Council continues to consider the BEUDO amendments. Staff will support the amendment process and plan for implementation of performance requirements as appropriate, including determining regulatory details of such requirements. Staff are also working to flesh out the BEUDO Resource Hub to provide integrated and comprehensive technical support programs for BEUDO properties, building off of the current Building Energy Retrofit Program offered in partnership with Eversource. 

This will overlap with the decarbonization program described in Action 1.1 to provide new financing options to multifamily buildings in Cambridge. Rollout of the federal Inflation Reduction Act and enhanced MassSave incentives will provide a key opportunity to fund BEUDO building upgrades. The City will also continue to consider adopting Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) loans as a financing tool.  

Overview

Action Area 2: Net Zero New Construction

Cambridge has been a leader in green design and sustainability in new construction. Most recently, the City adopted the Specialized Opt-in Energy Stretch Code on July 1, 2023. This stretch code was developed and released by the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources. During the codes development in 2022, City Staff participated in the public feedback and engagement process coordinating comments with other local communities. Expanding upon this the City also provided input to the Fossil Fuel Free Demonstration Pilot which the City will submit a full application to join later in 2023.

Additionally, the City of Cambridge adopted an amendment in March 2023 to its zoning ordinance to account for the embodied emissions of new construction for special permit projects as detailed in Action 2.2. This section covers activity that happened in FY23 which ran from July 1, 2022 through June 30, 2023.

Action 2 Table

Timeline

Action Area 2 Net Zero New Construction

Action Area 2 table
Smart Goals and Implementation Status

On Track

Equity
Resilience

Net Zero Requirements for New Construction

Action 2.1 Implementation Status

The activities for this action are currently on track. As part of the 5-year NZAP update, which was adopted in January 2023, SMART goals were assigned to action 2.1.

In FY23, the City of Cambridge adopted the latest and most stringent specialized opt-in stretch energy code released by the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources. City Staff provided feedback and comments on the draft language to help guide these codes to meet city goals. The requirements apply to new construction and major renovations of buildings and are in line with the targets originally laid out in the Net Zero Action Plan. 

In 2022, the City partnered with its neighboring communities and the Metropolitan Area Planning Council to advocate for the inclusion of a fossil fuel-free pilot program in the climate law that was passed later that year. This resulted in the announcement of a demonstration pilot program for fossil fuel free new construction. In FY23, City Staff began to lay out the framework for this pilot program, which will be presented to and voted on by City Council later in FY24. 

Net Zero Requirements for New Construction

Action 2.1 Next Steps. Challenges, and Opportunities

Over the coming year, Staff will continue to work with Council and the Inspectional Services Department to inform the regulated community and the public about the impact of the new specialized opt-in stretch energy code as it will come into effect on July 1, 2023. This will be in the form of online webinar trainings, regulations, and educational materials. This will help provide clear guidance and resources for building owners and developers to facilitate the implementation of the net zero requirements. 

Simultaneously, staff will collaborate to track and develop an application for the fossil fuel-free demonstration pilot program. Final regulations are expected to be released for this pilot by mid-2023, with an application deadline of September 1, 2023. The original application deadline was November 1, 2023, but was moved up causing Staff to shift priorities to ensure that Cambridge was to be considered for the pilot. One key limitation of the fossil fuel free pilot that has been raised within the city is the exclusion of laboratories and health care facilities; other options will need to be investigated to achieve net zero in these buildings. Staff is expecting to hear back about inclusion into the demonstration pilot before the end of 2023.

There are another 5 Certified, 5 Silver, 31 Gold, and 4 Platinum buildings that have either been permitted or are under construction within the city.

2.2 SMART goal

Address Embodied Carbon through Reporting Requirements

Action 2.2 Implementation Status

In FY23, City Council adopted an amendment to the city’s green building requirements as defined under Article 22 of the zoning ordinance. City Staff then began developing the tools and resources needed for new construction projects to understand the reporting requirements and how to report this data to the city. This work will be completed during the summer of 2023.

In January 2024 the reporting requirements will come into full effect. Currently, projects that must receive a special permit, are over 50,000 square feet, and do not include residential units will be required to report on the embodied emissions of select materials as laid out in the zoning amendment. 

Address Embodied Carbon through Reporting Requirements

Action 2.2 Progress

City staff procured the services of a consultant to establish the framework and tools to enable for the reporting of embodied emissions as laid out in the zoning amendment. The outcomes of this work included a detailed review of the embodied emissions landscape including the various emissions accounting tools and available softwares to conduct a whole building life cycle analysis, green building certification programs that give consideration to embodied carbon; and develop a reporting template that will be rolled up into the existing Net Zero Narrative used for all Green Building Review projects, as well as an educational document to serve as a tool kit for developers and architects to understand this emissions accounting and how to report to the City.    

CLF

Image provided by the Carbon Leadership Forum from the Embodied Carbon Policy Toolkit: https://carbonleadershipforum.org/clf-policy-toolkit/ 

Next Steps

Address Embodied Carbon through Reporting Requirements

Action 2.2 Next Steps, Challenges, and Opportunities

As stated in the zoning amendment, the full reporting requirements will go into effect when regulations are promulgated which is planned for January 2024. Cambridge is one of the few communities throughout North America to have a policy that addresses embodied emissions, which presents a challenge as industries involved in the manufacturing of materials and construction developers will need to gain the relevant expertise to fully and accurately report on embodied emissions. 

This would include developers, architects, engineers, and sustainability consultants to understand these requirements and how to use the available tools to report on embodied emissions. Manufactures will also need to develop environmental product declarations for their products. Additionally, it will take some time to figure out the best ways to collect, store, and analyze embodied emissions data to provide a full account of a project's greenhouse gas emissions and contribution to climate change. 

Another challenge that this action faces is the rate at which the City will see new construction projects that fall under the reporting requirements. Development waxes and wains with the economy, and if things slow down then the data collected through this action will be limited.   

2.3 SMART Goals

On Track

Resilience

Net Zero Requirements for Municipal Buildings

Action 2.3 Implementation Status

The activities for this action are currently on track. The City has for several years has been demonstrating leadership through designing and constructing new municipal buildings to be fossil fuel free and required to achieve net zero emissions. This shows Cambridge's ability to grow and increase the square footage of new buildings and renovate existing ones without increasing overall emissions. An allocation of $14.6 million in FY23 will continue to fund significant building improvements and deferred maintenance projects.

This commitment to the net zero and renewable thermal objectives will continue and provide a showcase for others for new technologies and how to achieve deep levels of savings through energy efficient design. It should also be noted that the procurement of off-site renewable energy is in progress to allow fossil-fuel free buildings to achieve net zero emissions. Municipal projects are subject to the adopted specialized opt-in stretch energy code. 

Net Zero Requirements for Municipal Buildings

Action 2.3 Next Steps, Challenges, and Opportunities

The City will continue with both net zero new construction and strategic renovation approaches in FY24. The City currently has 12 projects planned to be completed sometime between 2023 and 2030. These projects include weatherization measures, comprehensive renovations, roof replacements, and HVAC upgrades. Renovation projects will be done in buildings from the City Hall Annex, 105 Windsor Street, and the Fire Headquarters. However, energy retrofit projects must compete for funding with other urgent municipal facility maintenance and upgrade needs. Achievement of net zero emissions from all-electric municipal buildings will be facilitated by an expected procurement of 100% renewable electricity, which will come online by 2026. Specific consideration of opportunities to address embodied carbon will be made, informed by research for community-wide embodied carbon reporting standards under Action 2.2.

Overview

Action Area 3: Low Carbon Energy Supply

Increases in building efficiency must be combined with decarbonization, or elimination of fossil fuels, from the energy supply to buildings to achieve net zero emissions. Successfully decarbonizing the energy supply systems will require a combination of approaches over time. This section focuses on three main components: electrification of thermal systems; local (on-site) renewable energy supply; and procurement of renewable energy from acceptable sources outside of the City (off-site renewable electricity).

Action 3 Table

Timeline

Action area 3 Low Carbon Energy Supply

Action Area 3 table
Smart Goals and Implementation Status

On Track

Equity
Resilience

Carbon Free Thermal Energy

Action 3.1 Implementation Status

This activities for this action is currently on track. In FY23, the City continued to offer the Clean Heat Program to help small residential homeowners understand and pursue decarbonization of their heating and hot water systems. Over this past year, program experienced steady use as illustrated in the impacts section below. Staff also launched a pilot program with BlocPower to identify potential energy projects and provide financing, as mentioned in action 1.1. These programs work to expand support for small residential and multifamily building electrification, as explained in Action 1.1, the Clean Heat Program is being incorporated into a more comprehensive decarbonization program expected to launch summer 2023. 

Progress also continued on organization of the Neighborhood Energy community microgrid initiative. The initiative has engaged a wide range of organizations in The Port – including community centers, houses of worship, and health centers – on identifying ways to improve energy resiliency for critical buildings and thus for the community as a whole. Outreach to Port residents has continued through multiple channels and in multiple languages, and many have provided input on the neighborhood’s key energy resiliency needs.

Carbon Free Thermal Energy

Action 3.1 Next Steps, Challenges, and Opportunities

In FY24, the City will launch the decarbonization program and develop tracking metrics to fully understand the programs impact. In addition to launching the more comprehensive decarbonization program as a next step for Cambridge Clean Heat, in FY24 the City will further the development of the Neighborhood Energy pilot by conducting feasibility assessments for key buildings in the Port and facilitating a community-led process to identify how the microgrid can be equitably implemented.

In the district energy space, staff have been following the deployment of the Eversource Geomicrodistrict pilot and potential lessons for shared geothermal systems in Cambridge. The City applied for a federal grant through the Department of Energy grant that would have provided funding for a feasibility study for a pilot geomicrodistrict in Cambridge. Unfortunately, Cambridge was not selected to receive this grant, but has explored how to progress this project using City-funds or other grant opportunities..

Scaling up the pace of building decarbonization remains a key challenge given the unique circumstances of each building and limited resources to guide every building through the process. Enhanced state and federal commitment and incentives should help to overcome this barrier. The MA Commission on Clean Heat released a set of recommendations at the end of 2022 that, in combination with Inflation Reduction Act Funding, could make significant progress towards enabling replacement of fossil fuel systems in Cambridge buildings.

3.2 SMART Goal

On Track

Equity
Resilience

On-Site Renewable Energy Access

Action 3.2 Implementation Status

This activities for this action are currently on track. In FY23, the City continued to provide resources for solar to residents through programs offered by the Cambridge Energy Alliance. Such as the Sunny Cambridge program which connects homeowners with solar developers through the Energy Sage platform and the Community Shared Solar program which can be signed up for through our partnership with Sunwealth.

Technical advice was offered through the Multifamily Retrofit Advisor program, but those services were sunsetted in the Fall of 2022 as there was little uptake in the program. The City plans to offer technical advice to multifamily buildings for solar through its upcoming electrification program.   

As of the end of FY2023, the development of the community solar administrator program has been stalled. The City, through the Cambridge Energy Alliance and our partnership with Sunwealth offers income-qualified community solar subscriptions to Cambridge residents as an option to benefit from community solar.

For those looking to install solar directly, the City continues to offer the Sunny Cambridge solar quote comparison tool and technical support.

On-Site Renewable Energy Access

Action 3.2 Progress

In FY22, staff worked with a consultant to complete the design of a potential community solar program with the goals of enabling solar installations on more Cambridge roofs while giving low-income and other Cambridge residents the ability to realize electricity bill savings from solar. The program would identify and aggregate large, unutilized roofs and offer their owners lease payments and potential electricity savings in exchange for hosting solar installations. These installations would then generate discounted electricity to be made available to low-income residents and other people unable to install solar on their own homes. This program has not progressed forward in FY23. 

The City has 10 solar installations on city-owned buildings such as those at the King Open School, City Hall Annex, and Sullivan Water Treatment Facility. Several other installations on municipal buildings are planned to be constructed over the next several years. In total this accounts for roughly a capacity of 2544 kW. This surpassed the City's goal of providing 5% of all electricity consumed in municipal buildings to be from on-site solar.

Additionally, the City offers various programs for residents to learn about and pursue solar for their buildings. Since 1998, the City has permitted for the installation of 924 solar arrays. These all work to produce clean electricity for the community resulting in a combined generation of nearly 9,495 kWs.

Community Solar Accounts FY23

Rooftop Solar Requirements

Action 3.2 Next Steps, Challenges, and Opportunities

Staff are currently reviewing the community solar program design with the goal of laying the groundwork to launch the program in 2024. Community solar aims to overcome some of the key challenges to installing solar on roofs of buildings with multiple owners or where the owner has not decided to proceed with solar. The Inflation Reduction Act provided increased incentives for solar that can improve the economics of both individually owned and community solar systems.  

The low uptake in the solar offering that was provided through the Multi Family Retrofit Program can mainly be attributed to the complexities that exist with condo associations and multifamily buildings ownership structures, securing project financing, and finding developers that are comfortable working on these more complex projects. This will continue to be an ongoing issue for privately owned solar array's, however, community solar could be a more viable option for multi-family buildings.

To reach the goal of 55 MW of installed solar capacity by 2030, there would need to be about 7.5 MW would need to be installed each year. This would be a significant change to the current year over year trend and will require resources to support. 

3.3 SMART Goals

On Track

Equity

Off-site Renewable Electricity Access

Action 3.3 Implementation Status

The activities for this action are current on track. In FY23, staff submitted off-site renewable electricity criteria for consideration by City Council as part of the larger BEUDO amendments (See Action 1.2). That amendment process is ongoing. The City also continued to administer the Cambridge Community Electricity (CCE) aggregation program for approximately 42,000 residential and commercial accounts. CCE rates have remained stable thanks to the long-term contract even as global energy prices have risen significantly, saving Cambridge customers over $70 million dollars since 2017. Furthermore, over 1700 aggregation participants have opted up to 100% renewable energy from Massachusetts Renewable Energy Certificates.

G&P

Graham and Parks School

Over 40,000 electricity accounts participate in the Cambridge Community Electricity Program. All the Cambridge Community Electricity Program participants pay a $0.002 charge on each kWh of electricity they use and their collective impact has added over $2 million dollars to our Renewable Energy Fund. In March 2022, a new 243kW local solar project was installed on Graham and Parks School using Renewable Energy Fund money. This solar project is collectively “owned” by all the Cambridge Community Electricity Program participants! It is expected to generate at 280,000 kWhrs of energy per year.

Off-site Renewable Electricity Access

Action 3.3 Next Steps, Challenges, and Opportunities

Staff are currently pursuing options to increase the default percent of renewable electricity from purchaser-caused renewable energy sources in the aggregation, which is up for renewal at the end of 2023. These strategies can support the development of new renewable energy facilities. Increases in global energy supply prices will likely lead to an increase in aggregation electricity rates, however the aggregation can still offer greater rate stability for Cambridge residents. Part of the BEUDO amendment process is to understand the balance between clean electricity from the state grid and additional renewable electricity sources, and to create mechanisms for BEUDO buildings to opt-in to renewable electricity aggregation opportunities.

Resilience
Equity

Overview

Action Area 4: Financing and Capacity Building

This revised action is aimed at providing building owners the resources they need to make informed decisions about energy improvements and a means to access financing or funding for their projects. Further, this action is intended to lay the groundwork for various aspects of an enhanced Community Choice Aggregation program (CCA 3.0). The CCA 3.0 model is intended to allow residents and businesses the opportunity to own distributed energy resources (DER) using “green bond” financing to purchase the distributed energy systems and have customers opt to buy shares in the DERs, thereby conferring an ownership share to the participants and allowing the participants to realize the cost savings that occur with DER installations. By buying shares in DERs, customers can participate in DER ownership without high upfront capital costs or good credit, or even participate as renters. CCA 3.0 resolves to disengage from, rather than mitigate the impacts of fossil fuel power plants by planning and facilitating voluntary investment in local renewable energy and energy efficiency technologies. Furthermore, CCA 3.0 facilitates voluntary investment in small DERs on homes and businesses that reduce demand for grid and pipeline resources, rather than centralized renewable generation that adds to infrastructure demand. CCA 3.0 achieves equitable energy ownership, as opposed to equitable consumption of energy.

Action 4 Table

Timeline

Action Area 4 Financing and Capacity Building

Action Area 4 table

How You Can Help

Keep Your Commercial Building In Compliance

Stay up-to-date on energy use disclosure and green building requirements that may affect you or your building. 

Also, buildings subject to the Building Energy Use Disclosure Ordinance (BEUDO) can take advantage of the Cambridge Building Energy Resource Hub to make building upgrades cheaper and easier.

Get Help with Retrofits for your BEUDO-Covered Building
Review Building Energy Disclosure Requirements
Review Green Building Requirements

How You Can Help

Get Your Home or Building on the Net Zero Path

Sign your building up for one of Cambridge Energy Alliance’s programs. The Energy Alliance offers

  • Virtual energy assessments for renters, landlords, and homeowners
  • Energy assessments for small businesses and non-profits
  • Financial help for energy bills and energy improvements for low-income residents
  • Support with heat pumps, solar hot water, and solar PV, too!

Check out MassSave for many more money-saving opportunities for residents, landlords, and business owners.

Get Support for Efficiency in Your Home or Business
Find Cost-Saving Energy Programs