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.

Sustainability and Environment

Michelle Caulfield, Interim Director
Address: 700 5th Avenue, #1868, Seattle, WA, 98104
Mailing Address: PO Box 94729, Seattle, WA, 98124-4729
Phone: (206) 256-5158
OSE@seattle.gov

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