I’m grateful, that for several years and still, I’ve been privileged to be working in a LEED Platinum-certified building. The LEED Platinum certification is the highest ranking of all LEED certifications. LEED, stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, is one of the world’s most widely used green building rating system, which provides a framework for healthy, highly efficient and cost-saving green buildings that offer environmental, social and governance benefits. It is a globally recognised symbol of sustainability achievement in construction projects. Having said that, in early 2024, the same building announced that it has earned another recognition for its sustainability commitments with the Zero Carbon Building – Performance certification! And what does this mean?

According to the World Green Building Council (WorldGBC), buildings currently contribute to approximately 39% of global energy related carbon emissions – 28% from operational emissions and 11% from materials and construction. WorldGBC also notes that by 2050, as the world’s population approaches 10 billion, the global building stock is expected to double in size and carbon emission released before the built asset is used will be responsible for half of the entire carbon footprint of new constructions between now and 2050. With this piece of information in mind, Zero Carbon Building certification may fit into the picture as an effective driver which, with its added value in marketing and public interests, encourages building owners, developers and others stakeholders to demand the design and operation of zero net carbon buildings.

In a nutshell, the term ‘zero carbon’ in the context of Zero Carbon Building certification stands for ‘zero net carbon’ and a certified ‘Zero Carbon Building’ describes a building that has zero net carbon, or whose carbon emission during its construction and operation is equal to the amount of emission that it removes from the atmosphere via various emission removal measures. These measures may be choosing construction materials and architectural finishes with low embodied carbon, utilising renewable energy resources for general building operations, reducing energy consumption for heating and cooling via passive house strategies, incorporating green technologies, and contributing to high-quality carbon offset programs, etc… The Zero Carbon Building standards, as its name clearly suggests, was founded on the value for zero (net) carbon buildings and developed a framework of construction and operation standards that aims to allow most types of buildings to become carbon net zero.

Zero Carbon Building (ZCB) standards and certifications recognise the importance of building emissions in reaching national climate commitments and advocate zero carbon buildings as part of the solution to sustainable developments. The ZCB standards define low net carbon design and operational performance for buildings, and the ZCB certifications are available for all types of buildings, from office towers to arenas, warehouses, multi-unit residential buildings and schools, that provide sufficient documentation to proof that their design and/or operational performance comply with that defined by the ZCB standards. There are two pathways to achieve a ZCB certification – one is based on the ZCB Design Standard and the other is based on the ZCB Performance Standard. The main difference between the two pathways is that the former guides the design of new buildings or major retrofits of existing buildings to ensure that they can achieve zero net carbon once in operation, whilst the latter accesses whether a building has achieved zero carbon operations.

The ZCB – Design Standard certification verifies that the design of new buildings or major retrofits is comprehensive and evaluates the anticipated carbon emissions from building operations such as heating and cooling. It shows that project teams have carefully considered the embodied carbon of construction materials, refrigerants used in HVAC equipment and building airtightness. It also shows that the project teams have evaluated strategies to minimise electrical grid impacts.

The ZCB – Performance Standard certification, on the other hand, demonstrates that a building has achieved zero-carbon operations. It evaluates the building’s carbon emissions from normal building operations (ie. heating and cooling), as well as potential refrigerant leaks and the embodied carbon of new structural and envelope materials. Furthermore, the Performance Standard recognises the value of renewable energy and high quality carbon offsets whilst encourages strategies that account for the increasing demand on electrical grids. For projects with combustion equipment, the ZCB – Performance certification allows it to create a coated zero-carbon transition plan to show how equipment will be adapted over time and achieve decarbonization, often through regular equipment replacement life cycles.

The ZCB certification process for both pathways generally involves the following:

1. Certification pathway selection and registration
2. Completion of the ZCB Workbook and other required documentation
3. Submission of the completed ZCB Workbook and other required documentation
4. Submission Review Process
5. Certification and Promotion
6. Recertification
7. Fees and Payments

If you wish to learn more about ZCB certifications, you may visit the Canada Green Building Council (CAGBC) website.

Finally, having read my spiel about ZCB certifications and hopefully learnt the basis about the ZCB standards and two certification pathways, what do you think? Would you appreciate the effort of building owners or developers’ pursue of a ZCB certification? Would you pursue the certification for your own construction projects? Why or why not? I would love to read your opinions in the comment section below!