253 Summer St

How does 253 Summer St compare with other office buildings in Boston?

The latest disclosures cover 467 office buildings in Boston, out of 6,305 buildings citywide. 253 Summer St's ENERGY STAR score of 77 compares with an average of 71 across the 356 that report a score; it scores higher than 51% of them and lower than 48%. Its site EUI of 67.3 kBtu/ft² is roughly in line with the average of 61.7 kBtu/ft².

At 216,012 sq ft, it is about 13% above the average floor area of 191,803 sq ft for those buildings. Across all 24 jurisdictions BuildingCensus covers, the 15,264 office buildings average an ENERGY STAR score of 73 and a site EUI of 59.3 kBtu/ft².

How has 253 Summer St's energy performance changed over time?

BuildingCensus holds 3 Boston disclosures for 253 Summer St, covering report years 2022–2024. Its ENERGY STAR score went from 59 in 2022 to 77 in 2024 (+18 points); its best year on file was 2023, at 80. Site EUI moved from 91.7 kBtu/ft² (2022) to 67.3 kBtu/ft² (2024), a 27% decrease. Reported emissions went from 1,336 tCO₂e to 806 tCO₂e over the same span (down 40%).

What does an ENERGY STAR score of 77 mean?

ENERGY STAR scores run from 1 to 100 and are computed by the EPA's Portfolio Manager as a percentile against similar buildings nationwide, adjusted for climate, size and use: a score of 77 means the building performs better than about 77% of its national peers. BuildingCensus bands the score into report-card grades; 77 falls in band B — above median (70–84). Scores of 75 or higher meet the threshold for ENERGY STAR certification; certification itself is a separate, verified application that the disclosure does not record. In Boston, 52% of scored buildings are at 75 or above.

Site energy-use intensity (EUI) is the energy a building uses on site in a year divided by its floor area, in thousand Btu per square foot — lower is more efficient. 253 Summer St's 67.3 kBtu/ft² across 216,012 sq ft works out to about 14.5 billion Btu (4,261 MWh-equivalent) in 2024. The disclosure also reports 2,507,756 kWh of electricity and 59,904 therms of natural gas for the year.

Which law requires 253 Summer St to report its energy use?

253 Summer St reports under BERDO 2.0, the legal basis of Boston's Building Emissions Reduction and Disclosure Ordinance, which publishes each covered building's annual benchmarking results. The record shown here is the report-year 2024 disclosure (source record boston:106009:2024). BERDO 2.0 sets emissions standards for buildings of 20,000+ sq ft or 15+ units, starting in 2025 or 2030 depending on building size, with an alternative-compliance payment of $234 per metric ton of CO₂e over the limit.