Purpose and background
Heating and powering Portland’s commercial buildings accounts for 24% of carbon emissions in the city. And that number is rising: Since 2012, commercial building emissions rose 16 percent. This means our local government must pull every lever it can to reduce emissions, and Portland’s largest commercial and multifamily buildings must do their part to decarbonize.
As part of the proposed existing building standards policy, Portland’s large commercial and multifamily buildings would have to meet standards related to carbon emissions and health by certain dates. Some examples of climate and health standards include:
- Requiring increased ventilation standards to reduce airborne diseases.
- Limiting carbon emissions by improving energy efficiency or increasing renewable energy supply.
- Making buildings and communities more resilient to power outages.
- Setting maximum indoor temperature for heat wave resilience.
These examples illustrate the breadth of what climate and health standards can address. However, not all of these standards will be applicable in all cases.
What’s next?
The Bureau of Planning and Sustainability convened stakeholders to help develop climate and health standards for existing buildings in 2022 and 2023. We will continue to convene with key stakeholders in the development of a draft policy.