Tetra Tech’s Brian Stern, vice president and director of energy, and Zoe Roberts, senior energy consultant, share what public sector clients need to know when considering building decarbonization across their portfolios and how Tetra Tech approaches decarbonization strategy for large institutions.
This article was originally published in Climate Change Business Journal (CCBJ), Volume XIX, Numbers 1-2-3: Q1 2026 Executive Review & CCBJ Awards for 2025. Tetra Tech received the CCBJ Business Achievement Award for Consulting & Engineering for our California Decarbonization Strategy project.
Evolving building decarbonization expectations are shifting public sector approaches
Over the last three years, how have government decarbonization mandates evolved?
Many of our government clients set goals to achieve carbon neutrality between 2030-2045, with those targets established within the last 10 years and deadlines rapidly approaching. We have seen a shift from planning to a focus on execution, How will we meet these goals in a cost-effective and practical manner? In many cases we have seen the language around these goals evolve from being carbon-centric to resiliency and energy efficiency-focused. Saving utility cost and increasing resilience is inherently less political and easier to create stakeholder buy-in around, so we have had to shift the language used to describe these goals even if the physical projects recommended remain the same.
What new expectations are public sector clients placing on consultants when developing decarbonization roadmaps?
Public sector clients are increasingly expecting consultants to move beyond technical planning and into implementation and funding strategy development. Traditionally, our decarbonization workflow focused on consolidating data, identifying opportunities, and estimating costs with a significant portion of effort dedicated to data collection and project identification. While that workflow still applies, more attention is being placed on what happens after the plan.
Today, clients are much more focused on how projects will actually be delivered. Decarbonization roadmaps often come with significant capital requirements, so we now spend more time helping clients understand how to fund and phase these investments. This includes addressing questions like: How does the cost of a decarbonization program scale relative to the State’s budget over time? What is the year-one funding requirement and what does that capital stack look like? How can federal and utility incentives be leveraged while accounting for increasing policy volatility?
At the same time, there has been a clear shift from goal setting to execution. Public sector clients are no longer satisfied with aspirational plans. They are under pressure to implement and demonstrate progress. As a result, we are increasingly asked to stay engaged well beyond roadmap development. After delivering technical plans with defined projects and carbon reduction pathways, we often transition into advisory roles, supporting clients through stakeholder engagement, approvals, and integration into capital planning processes. In many cases, this means remaining involved for months or even years to help ensure plans show measurable progress.
Public sector clients are increasingly expecting consultants to move beyond technical planning and into implementation and funding strategy development.
How are federal infrastructure programs, government incentives, or state-level climate funding reshaping how agencies structure decarbonization investments?
Initially, there was a lot of excitement around federal incentives; however, as these have evolved or been scaled back, agencies are increasingly looking for project opportunities with short payback periods or long-term cost savings. Electrification of large buildings is very capital-intensive, and we have seen clients phase these projects out over time and align them with equipment end of life. We are also seeing increased interest in alternative financing mechanisms, particularly Energy Savings Performance Contracts (ESPCs), as a means of completing projects with lower upfront capital costs.
In parallel, utility partnerships are playing a critical role in bridging funding gaps. Utilities such as the Sacramento Municipal Utility District and the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power have been active in supporting projects through incentive programs and technical assistance. While direct funding for building decarbonization remains limited in many cases, utility incentives are often one of the most reliable and accessible sources of financial support.
How does California’s aggressive policy environment influence technology adoption timelines compared to the rest of the United States?
Decarbonization is often treated as an aspirational goal across much of the U.S., but in California it is increasingly a regulatory requirement. This policy environment is significantly accelerating technology adoption timelines and creating a more consistent pathway to implementation.
At the state level, agencies are required to develop decarbonization roadmaps under Senate Bill 1203. In parallel, Senate Bill 100 requires utilities to deliver 100 percent renewable electricity by 2040, directly reinforcing building electrification strategies by ensuring that electricity use becomes less and less carbon-intensive over time.
Regional air quality regulations are also playing a critical role. The Bay Area and South Coast Air Quality Management Districts have introduced strict emissions limits on water heaters, furnaces, and boilers. These rules effectively constrain the use of fossil fuel systems through compliance pathways that favor electrified technologies. As a result, decarbonization is not just encouraged but embedded into equipment selection decisions. California’s Title 24 energy standards have also continued to push higher levels of efficiency in building systems and envelopes for new construction.
This multilayered policy framework creates a culture of decarbonization and electrification in California. It establishes clear timelines, reduces regulatory ambiguity, and signals to the market that high-performance, all-electric buildings are the long-term standard.
Emerging tools and technologies enable prioritization of decarbonization projects at scale
What digital tools or analytics platforms are becoming essential for managing large-scale decarbonization portfolios?
Standardizing energy and facility equipment data is crucial for understanding project needs and projected project impacts. Many public sector clients already use asset management systems, but these systems are often not structured in a way that supports decarbonization planning. For example, they might track at a high level what type of mechanical system a building has, but it might not consistently track whether these systems are electric or use natural gas. Consistently tracking this type of information enables clients to identify what decarbonization projects are applicable when equipment reaches end of life.
In parallel, data visualization tools are becoming essential for communicating program impacts and supporting decision-making. Platforms like Power BI are increasingly used to translate complex datasets into interactive dashboards that illustrate costs, carbon reductions, and implementation timelines. These tools are especially valuable for stakeholder engagement, as they provide a more accessible and dynamic way to convey insights compared to traditional written reports.
Decarbonization roadmaps often come with significant capital requirements, so we now spend more time helping clients understand how to fund and phase these investments.
What emerging technologies are gaining traction across government portfolios?
Building decarbonization across large government portfolios is not a one-size-fits-all approach. The specific technologies used vary significantly based on building type, size, and use. For smaller administrative buildings and facilities with limited footprints, such as neighborhood libraries and senior centers, we are seeing a lot of packaged heat pump systems, including rooftop units and split systems. These solutions offer a relatively straightforward path to electrification with minimal disruption to building tenants.
For larger and more complex buildings, the approach is more holistic and combines energy efficiency with electrification. Clients are first prioritizing whole-building load reduction strategies, such as envelope improvements and retro-commissioning, to reduce overall energy demand. From there, they are moving toward electrification through systems like heat recovery chillers and air-to-water heat pumps. At the same time, there is growing awareness of refrigerant impacts, and we expect to see increased adoption of low global warming potential options, including CO₂-based heat pumps, as the market evolves.
We are also seeing increased collaboration with electric utilities. Utilities are supportive of building electrification but are managing real grid capacity constraints. As a result, they are working more closely with public sector clients to integrate distributed energy resources into projects. Solar photovoltaic, battery energy storage, and demand response controls are increasingly being incorporated into building upgrades to help manage load and support grid reliability.
In parallel, many public sector clients are planning for both building and fleet electrification. This is driving the integration of electric vehicle charging infrastructure into projects, along with proactive planning for future electrical system upgrades.
CCBJ Award: California Decarbonization Strategy
Tetra Tech developed a strategic framework and detailed roadmap working with The California Department of General Services to achieve operational decarbonization goals across the State of California’s vast portfolio of facilities to comply with State Senate Bill 1203. The portfolio is represented by 35 individual state agencies with more than 15,000 buildings totaling over 104 million square feet. Tetra Tech’s sustainability experts identified decarbonization strategies to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and enhance resiliency, including electrification measures to eliminate on-site natural gas use, energy efficiency measures to reduce utility expenditures, and developed strategies for renewable energy deployment and clean energy procurement.
Once implemented, 52 million therms of annual natural gas consumption and 520,000 metric tons of annual CO₂ emissions will be eliminated from State operations. Tetra Tech also developed a prioritization framework that will support each agency’s annual planning efforts to optimize the sequencing of targeted investments in specific buildings over the next 10 years, factoring in emission reductions, equity, and cost considerations. To support implementation, Tetra Tech developed a customized interactive project tracking tool that integrates with each agency’s annual reporting and five-year infrastructure requirements and provides real-time updates on project completion, natural gas savings, and emissions reductions.
Want more insight into building decarbonization? Read the full article in Climate Change Business Journal.
About the authors
Brian Stern
Brian Stern is vice president and director of energy in the Tetra Tech High Performance Buildings Group.
He is an energy and decarbonization leader with expertise in net-zero strategy, building decarbonization, energy management, electric vehicle transition, renewable energy, and infrastructure resilience. He leads cross-functional teams to develop strategic decarbonization plans at various scales from individual facilities to university campuses, national portfolios, cities, and states. He is a graduate of the University of California, Los Angeles, with a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering.
Zoe Roberts
Zoe Roberts is an associate and senior energy consultant in the Tetra Tech High Performance Buildings Group.
Zoe specializes in developing decarbonization strategies for portfolio building owners, including cities, universities, and state agencies. As a key member of Tetra Tech’s energy team, she leads projects that help organizations transition their infrastructure to zero carbon energy sources. She has contributed to major efforts such as the City of Los Angeles’ building decarbonization plan and the California Department of General Services’ roadmap for state-owned facilities. She is a graduate of Rice University with a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering.