CaGBC’s “Making The Case For Building To Zero Carbon” report demonstrates definitively that Zero Carbon Buildings offer meaningful greenhouse gas reductions and positive financial returns. Specifically, the study, a first of its kind in Canada, shows that Zero Carbon Buildings provide a positive financial return over a 25-year life-cycle, inclusive of carbon pollution pricing, and requiring only a modest capital cost premium.
Critically, the study shows that Zero Carbon Buildings can be built today and that operating cost savings will cover the needed investment. Furthermore, as the cost of carbon rises over time, the business case for Zero Carbon Buildings grows stronger. The economic case for Zero Carbon Buildings is reinforced over time with the rising cost of carbon, increased resiliency, and by avoiding costs such as future retrofits.
As seen in this infographic, the report looked at a full range of building archetypes - low-rise office, mid-rise office, low-rise multi-unit residential, mid-rise multi-unit residential, primary schools, big box retail and warehouses in the Canadian cities of Vancouver, Calgary, Ottawa, Toronto, Montreal and Halifax. CaGBC’s study is further confirmation that Zero Carbon Buildings are technically feasible and financially viable.
The “Making The Case For Building To Zero Carbon” report was developed with financial contributions from Natural Resources Canada, The National Research Council, Public Services and Procurement Canada, The Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat, REALPAC, the Government of Nova Scotia and the Real Estate Foundation of British Columbia.
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As the common service provider for infrastructure services for the Government of Canada, Real Property Services has taken a leadership position in reducing GHG emissions to 54% from 2005 levels. The CaGBC Zero Carbon Costing Study provided us with an independent validation that the investment decision-making framework in our Public Services and Procurement Canada Carbon Neutral Portfolio Strategy will ensure that we meet or exceed GHG reduction targets of 80% by 2050 and help us help other custodians green their building inventory.
- Kevin Radford, Assistant Deputy Minister Real Property Services, Public Services and Procurement Canada
This report will not only help the industry move ahead with zero carbon construction, it will help the public sectors across Canada plan for, and build greener buildings. In the end, strategic initiatives like this work help us achieve our common environmental goals.
- Nick Xenos, Executive Director, Centre for Greening Government, Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat
The cost of not adopting Zero Carbon Buildings grows with each passing day. This study shows us definitively that Zero Carbon Buildings can be achieved with existing market-ready technologies and approaches for most building types, and that operating cost savings will cover the needed investments. The Canadian building industry and governments now have proof to make the changes needed to create Canada’s low-carbon building stock and avoid creating buildings that will become a liability in a carbon constrained economy.
- Thomas Mueller, President and Chief Executive Officer, CaGBC
This is the first study of its kind in Canada, and it shows that Zero Carbon Buildings provide tangible benefits to owner-operators, design teams and policy decisionmakers. There is an opportunity for building owner-operators, design teams and governments to demonstrate leadership in normalizing the processes and technologies that will make Zero Carbon Buildings the go to industry standard for building excellence.
- Antoni Paleshi, Senior Energy Performance Specialist (Sustainability & Energy), WSP in Canada
