Municipal Buildings Decarbonization Plan
The Municipal Buildings Decarbonization Plan aims to improve energy efficiency and eliminate emissions from all City-owned buildings by 2042.
The Plan covers 176 City buildings that had fossil fuel systems as of June 30, 2024. The Plan prioritizes cost-effective upgrades to building equipment that is at the end of its useful life and needs to be replaced anyways. This prevents duplicative work and conserves the City’s resources. A follow-up report will outline recommendations for 14 additional buildings at the Seattle Center campus.
Planned Investments
The Plan’s four key strategies will guide investments over the next twenty years. This includes:
Estimated Emissions Impact
The Plan complies with BEPS, which requires larger buildings in Seattle to reach net-zero by 2050. Further, the City will eliminate fossil fuels from 85% of the buildings that currently use them by 2037. Meeting BEPS early for most buildings will show other building owners how to do the same.
87% Reduction in emissions
47% Reduction in energy use
When work is complete, building emissions will be reduced by about 90% and energy use by about 50%. By 2042, municipal buildings would emit around 11,000 fewer MT CO2e per year and would avoid 115,000 MT CO2e of emissions between 2024 and 2042. This is equivalent to taking 27,000 cars off the road for a year.