The dates for the new updated live QEM training have been determined!
June 25th & 26th from 09:00 am to 12:00 pm.
The two days will cover different content. So, you will need to attend both days to hear the complete curriculum.
OSE: 2026 Building Decarbonization Grants
2026 Building Decarbonization Grant Program Now Accepting Applications!
The Building Decarbonization Grant program is open to applications through August 10 and will award up to $4 million for projects at BEPS-covered buildings. These grants will help fund engineering design and capital retrofit projects to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from recipient buildings ahead of BEPS compliance deadlines. As in 2025, OSE will prioritize buildings like nonprofits, affordable housing, senior housing, and other facilities serving frontline communities, as well as buildings whose current energy data show them exceeding upcoming BEPS greenhouse gas intensity (GHGI) targets. However, all buildings covered by BEPS are eligible and encouraged to apply. All grant information is posted on the Building Emissions Navigator webpage.
Key Details
- Pre-Application Info Session: OSE’s info session on May 6 covered the application guidelines, eligible projects, tips for project readiness, and examples of prior awardee projects. Those unable to attend can view a recording of the session and access the presentation slides on the Navigator webpage.
- Eligibility: Buildings must be covered by Seattle’s BEPS to be eligible. These include multifamily or nonresidential (i.e., commercial) buildings larger than 20,000 square feet.
- Application: Apply via the link on the Navigator webpage. In the coming weeks, OSE is hosting two information sessions on Zoom, with pre-registration required. The sessions will be recorded and posted on the Navigator webpage.
- Wednesday, May 27, 12:30 – 1:30 PM. Register here
- Tuesday, June 16, 5 – 6 PM. Register here
- Deadline: Submit the online application form by August 10, 2026, at 8 PM to be considered.
- Technical Assistance: Free technical assistance is available to applicants on a first-come, first-served basis. Buildings owned or occupied by nonprofit organizations, or serving Seattle’s Frontline communities will be prioritized, but all buildings are eligible. Apply for assistance now!
Building Emissions Navigator Coaching Cohorts
To help you understand BEPS and develop your path to compliance, the City of Seattle provides support through the Seattle Building Emissions Navigator. The Navigator offers free group training and customized technical assistance for your building — and it’s available to building operators, owners, and property management teams.
Three cohorts are currently underway, and the Navigator will host at least one additional cohort starting this fall:
- Virtual cohort with four monthly workshops, starting September 16
Before enrolling in the program, you must attend a one-hour online info session or watch the info session recording. Then email [email protected] to request an enrollment form.
WA Dept of Commerce: Deadlines for Tier 1 Buildings, Success Stories, and HB1543 Rulemaking
Attention Tier 1 (greater than 220,000 square feet) building owners who haven’t started with compliance
The compliance deadline for Tier 1 buildings greater than 220,000 square feet is June 1, 2026.
If you’re the owner of a building subject to the Clean Building Performance Standard (CBPS) and have not yet started the compliance process, please begin now and develop a plan to meet the CBPS requirements for your building. Buildings that don’t meet the requirements by the compliance deadline may face a penalty.
- Is your building exempt? If the building meets at least one of the exemption criteria listed in Section Z4.1 of the CBPS, it’s not too late to apply for exemption. Apply for exemption through the Clean Buildings Portal.
- Are you interested in applying for one of the newly proposed compliance pathways or exemptions? We’ll announce when applications open in the Clean Buildings Bulletin. To receive updates, please visit www.commerce.wa.gov/cbps to subscribe or complete the interest form to be notified.
- Are you interested in applying for an extension? Building owners can apply for an extension up to six months before or after the compliance deadline. Extension applications won’t be accepted until the new extension rules are codified. We’ll announce when the exemption application becomes available through the Clean Buildings Bulletin. To receive updates, please visit www.commerce.wa.gov/cbps to subscribe or complete the interest form to be notified.
- When will penalties be issued? Commerce hasn’t established a timeline for sending the Notice of Violation and Opportunity to Correct (NOVC — the first notice) yet. These notifications are intended to encourage building owners to act now in submitting compliance or exemption applications or apply for an extension instead of being penalized. Our priority is to ensure building owners have the opportunity to meet the standard.
- Why start now? If a building owner doesn’t receive an extension or does not obtain an approved compliance or extension application, administrative penalties will be assessed through Notice of Violation and Intent to Assess Administrative Penalties (NOVI) (second notice).
- Responding to the NOVI with a noncompliance mitigation plan in accordance with the standard may reduce fines. Please refer to Section Z5 of the standard for details about the assessment of administrative penalties and the appeals process for Tier 1 covered buildings.
- Compliance support: Commerce Clean Buildings staff is here to help building owners define a path to compliance and identify available financial incentives. There’s also other no-cost assistance including utility accelerator programs and the Smart Buildings Center help desk.
- Questions? Contact the Clean Buildings Team using the customer support form.
Success story: Mercer Island School District
Mercer Island School District is one of the largest school districts in the state to achieve compliance with the Clean Buildings Performance Standard (CBPS) including Mercer Island High School, which exceeds 220,000 square feet.
“This milestone reflects three years of dedicated collaboration between the district’s facilities team, led by Director of Maintenance, Operations, and Facilities Tony Kuhn, Hargis Engineers, Puget Sound Energy (PSE) and ATS Automation,” said Kathy Zurawski, Capital Projects Coordinator for Mercer Island School District. “This accomplishment demonstrates what’s possible through teamwork, innovation, and a commitment to a greener future for students and the broader community.”
Kathy led efforts in data analysis, optimizing building systems, and worked in partnership with community stakeholders to ensure compliance and drive energy efficiency across the district. “Because we had joined PSE’s CSEM program the previous year or so, we had already made many improvements that helped us reach our EUI goals,” said Zurawski.
Hargis supported the district with no-cost HVAC control upgrades to address elevated EUI performance, but then immediately moved into the energy audit phase to adhere to the CBPS timeline.
During the assessment, the district found that updates to the HVAC control systems improved building efficiency enough for the buildings to meet CBPS requirements, making energy audits unnecessary.
This reinforced the importance of maintaining good HVAC controls as their impact on overall building performance can often be significant.
“Our maintenance and operations team, led by Tony Kuhn, is second-to-none. Systems that should have been replaced 10 years ago continue to operate, and thanks to their ingenuity, do so as efficiently as possible,” said Superintendent Fred Rundle.
The district gave a big shout-out to their Maintenance and Operations team: Steve Baird, Shannon Allen and Dana Parkey who they mentioned played a key role in putting energy-saving improvements into action. While challenges remain — particularly with aging infrastructure — the district says it will continue to pursue forward-thinking maintenance practices and employee engagement to extend the impact of its energy conservation efforts.
We continue to receive success stories from building owners and their teams and look forward to sharing them with you. If you would like to have your success story featured in an upcoming bulletin, please fill out this short questionnaire.
Submit your comments for HB1543 Rulemaking
Commerce filed the HB1543 CR-102 rulemaking on April 9. The proposed rules and the CR-102 form are available on the Clean Buildings webpage. The form includes:
- Agency contact information
- Intended adoption date
- Public hearing details
- Small Business Economic Impact Statement.
Public hearing: Thursday, May 28, 2026, 10 a.m.
The public hearing and end of the comment period for HB1543 rulemaking is scheduled for May 28, 2026. This is your opportunity to give a testimony on the proposed rules and to participate in the rulemaking process.
REGISTER FOR the Public Hearing
You can submit written comments can be submitted through the stakeholder comment form. The deadline for written comments is May 28, 2026, at 4:30 p.m.
Free resources and technical support
WA Commerce Webinar: Cool Classrooms on a Budget: How Federal Energy Tax Credits Can Help
Monday, May 11 @ 1-2pm PT
Register here
As warmer weather returns, district leaders will face an uncomfortable reality: many classrooms without cooling are unable to keep students and staff safe in today’s climate. Several school districts are tapping into a reliable source for their heating and cooling: the ground. Hear from Seattle Public Schools and McKinstry about how school districts can incorporate ground-source heat pumps to support comfortable classrooms, minimize demands on maintenance staff, improve building resilience and reduce air pollution.
Schools can save up to 50% on the cost of installing this modern HVAC solution with non-competitive, uncapped federal funding available through 2034. Washington’s Clean Energy Tax Credit Assistance Program (CETCAP) provides free legal, technical, and filing support to help schools secure these dollars.
Leave this webinar with an understanding of ground-source heat pumps as a modern HVAC solution, including considerations for implementation, operations, and maintenance, and how all school districts can unlock this technology with federal funds.
Clean Building Performance Webinar Series and New and Updated Guidance Documents
CBPS Webinar Series: How to submit a Tier 1 compliance application
The first compliance deadline for Tier 1 buildings over 220,000 square feet is approaching quickly. To help building owners and their teams, the Clean Buildings team is hosting a webinar on how to submit a Tier 1 compliance application through the Clean Buildings Portal.
Join us on May 6, 2025, at 10 a.m. This session is designed for all Tier 1 covered buildings and will walk participants through accessing the portal, setting up shared access, connecting your compliance application to ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager, and completing the submission. Whether you’re preparing your first application or want to make sure everything is submitted correctly, this webinar will provide step-by-step guidance and helpful tips.
REGISTER TO PARTICIPATE
New and updated guidance documents added
We’ve updated and added new guidance documents! Visit the Clean Buildings Document Library to review new and updated guidance documents.
Updated:
- CBPS 008 Measuring Gross Floor Area (PDF) Revised 4/9/2026
- CBPS 21-E Exemption: Agricultural Structures (PDF) Revised 4/9/2026
- CBPS 21-F Exemption: Pending Demolition (PDF) Revised 4/9/2026
New
OBEP Fellowship Case Studies Series, McMinnville Community Center
Over the next 3 weeks we’ll be sharing 3 case studies from our OBEP Fellow detailing buildings around McMinnville, OR starting today with the Community Center!
What is OBEP?
The Oregon Building Energy and Performance project (OBEP) is a collaborative initiative led by the Smart Buildings Center, Strategic Energy Innovations, San Timoteo Energy Associates, in coordination with the Oregon Department of Energy (ODOE). This partnership supports under-resourced building owners in meeting the requirements of Oregon’s Building Performance Standards (OR BPS). As part of the initiative, the OBEP Fellow receives training in areas such as the Green Building Practicum, Building Operator Certification, and Oregon BPS compliance.
View or download the first case study here as a .pdf
Are you interested in the services provided by the OBEP Fellowship? Fill out the interest form here.
