Zero Carbon

The Canada Green Building Council’s Zero Carbon Building Program is a made-in-Canada solution that provides standards, education and research to support Canada’s climate mitigation goals.

To avoid the worst effects of climate change, we need to eliminate GHG emissions from all building construction and operations by 2050. Buildings being designed today must target zero-carbon emissions and retrofits of existing buildings must significantly reduce carbon.

The only way to be future ready is to be zero carbon. Industry leaders are acting now, by leveraging CaGBC’s Zero Carbon Building Standard (ZCB Standard) to direct design, guide retrofits, and verify that building operations are zero carbon. In the process, these leaders are driving innovation and creating new jobs and opportunities in aligned with a low-carbon economy.

Version 2 Available Now

ZCB Standard v2 incorporates learnings from real-world projects including existing and new buildings such as schools, multi-unit residential buildings, commercial and industrial buildings. Updates to the ZCB Standard provide the rigour needed to ensure zero emissions – and the flexibility to encourage widespread adoption of zero carbon buildings.

Important updates include:

Requirement to offset embodied carbon and refrigerants
Multiple energy efficiency paths to choose from
Airtightness testing
Recognition of carbon offsets
Requirement for impactful and innovative technologies and design approaches
New and improved tools and resources

What is a zero-carbon building?

A zero-carbon building is a highly energy efficient building that produces onsite, or procures, carbon-free renewable energy or high-quality carbon offsets to offset the annual carbon emissions associated with building materials and operations. Zero carbon buildings represent the industry’s best opportunity for cost-effective emissions reductions that spur innovation in design, building materials and technology, creating jobs and business opportunities.

Making the case for zero carbon buildings

We’ve proven zero carbon buildings are technically feasible and financially viable. Only zero carbon buildings can future proof against the rising cost of carbon, reinforcing their value over time, while also offering benefits far beyond carbon reduction.

Read CaGBC’s Making the Case for Building to Zero Carbon report.