The City’s Environment Department engaged RDH to deliver a set of integrated services: technical training, on-call consulting, and public education tools, based on building science expertise and adapted to different user groups. BERDO sets carbon emissions limits for large buildings, aiming to reduce citywide greenhouse gas emissions. The BERDO Review Board oversees this process and helps environmental justice communities benefit from the transition to low-carbon buildings.
Training That Builds Capacity
Turning BERDO’s emissions reduction goal into reality required technical knowledge, clear communication, and coordination across stakeholders. Our team of Training & Publications and Energy & Climate specialists conducted a needs assessment to understand the technical fluency of the BERDO Review Board and Department staff. Using an agile instructional design approach, we developed and delivered a three-phase training program that:
- Built foundational knowledge of building systems, emissions, and decarbonization strategies.
- Explored real-world applications, including district energy and renewable energy procurement.
- Enabled critical thinking through live case study evaluations and peer-to-peer learning.
We designed the training to be flexible, responsive, and inclusive by adapting to Open Meeting Law requirements and the participants’ diverse learning preferences. Learner evaluations indicated that the training was well-received and had high engagement.
On-Call Technical Support
To support decision-making on key flexibility measure applications, we created a technical support system for the Review Board members that included:
- Scheduled office hours for real-time consultation.
- A searchable Q&A repository to capture and share team responses to common questions and create a lasting knowledge base for the City.
- Cursory application reviews that helped the Department evaluate hardship and flexibility requests with technical confidence.
Clear Compliance Guidance
One key challenge was helping building owners understand what BERDO compliance actually looks like. RDH addressed this challenge by developing a set of quick-reference guides on the following topics:
- Building Energy Efficiency Retrofits
- Renewable Energy Certificates
- Zero-Over-Time Planning
- Power Purchase Agreements
- The BERDO Compliance Process
- Building Energy Efficiency Retrofits: Who Does What?
These resources clarify complex topics in plain language, with clear visuals, to make compliance approachable and actionable.
BERDO Compliance Case Study
To illustrate how BERDO compliance plays out in practice, we collaborated with the Department to create a theoretical case study comparing seven retrofit scenarios for a typical Boston building. Each scenario balanced technical feasibility with real-world constraints—capital planning, tenant needs, and space limitations—offering practical insights for owners and design teams alike.
The outcomes of the study offer valuable insights into a process for evaluating compliance needs that building owners can apply to their own buildings as well as solutions that design teams can consider to meet an owner’s needs.
Download the BERDO Compliance Case Study.
By supporting this project, our team applied building science expertise to support energy-efficient buildings and scalable, climate-resilient solutions. This project demonstrates RDH’s role in translating technical requirements into clear, usable information for decision-making.
