Decarbonization Road Maps for Cities: Helping San Francisco & Boston Reach Climate Goals
All-Electric Multifamily in San Francisco: Electrification Planning for Affordable Housing
San Francisco’s climate goals rely heavily on cutting emissions from existing buildings, particularly in multifamily and affordable housing. Many properties still depend on natural gas systems for heating, hot water and cooking. The question for owners isn’t whether electrification matters – it’s how to plan the transition in a way that works for residents, budgets and building systems. Our sustainability and resilience team is partnering with the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC) to help building owners make the transition.
How We’re Supporting Electrification in San Francisco
We worked with the SFPUC to expand its All-Electric Multifamily Program to a broader range of participants. Originally focused on customers of Hetch Hetchy Power, the program is now open to affordable-housing buildings in San Francisco that purchase electricity from CleanPowerSF, an SFPUC-administered power aggregator that provides cleaner, renewable electricity to residents and businesses at competitive rates.
Owners of eligible properties can enroll in the program to receive an electrification plan at no cost to them. Our energy engineers are leading a team of consultants who will work with individual properties to assess the buildings’ current energy use and develop customized, practical plans for making the switch from gas to low-carbon electricity. Learn More & Apply
Zero-Over-Time Program in Boston: Long-Term Decarbonization Road Maps
Boston’s Building Emissions Reduction and Disclosure Ordinance (BERDO) sets emissions standards for large existing buildings and requires owners to cut greenhouse gas emissions over time. It’s an effective tool for driving carbon reductions, but it also creates a planning challenge: turning a legal requirement into realistic, building-by-building road maps.
Zero-Over-Time planning treats decarbonization as a staged process rather than a one-time project. It maps emissions reductions over multiple cycles of equipment replacement and capital work. The program connects policy, building data and technical guidance so BERDO building owners can see a clear path to compliance.
Some BERDO buildings – including mixed-use buildings located in environmental justice neighborhoods and owned by a small business or nonprofit, as well as some multifamily residential buildings – are eligible for the Building Decarbonization Advisor Program (BDAP). Owners and tenants who are accepted into the program receive tailored decarbonization plans and technical assistance at no cost.
How Thornton Tomasetti Is Helping Boston Decarbonize
We are one of the contractors hired by the City of Boston to provide BDAP participants with technical planning for BERDO: we assess how buildings are performing today, analyze which building-enclosure and mechanical-system upgrades best suit each property’s needs, and develop Zero-Over-Time plans that lay out a staged sequence of facility improvements.
Our work with the BDAP program is just the latest in a series of collaborations between Thornton Tomasetti and the City of Boston. We’ve been working with officials since 2019 to develop polices, strategies, tools and trainings to help Boston meet its commitment to becoming carbon neutral by 2050.
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