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A proven path to lower carbon emissions
The growing impact of climate change demands action, and buildings must be part of the solution. Slowing the rise in global temperatures means cutting carbon emissions. Today, residential, commercial, and institutional buildings contribute 17% of Canada’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Considering building materials and construction brings that number is closer to 30%, making the building sector Canada’s third-highest carbon emitter.
Green buildings offer a proven solution. They are more energy and resource efficient, use renewable energy, and work with the environment around them. Zero-carbon buildings help lower carbon emissions by addressing embodied carbon from construction materials and processes and from heating, cooling, and refrigerant use. Committing to green, zero-carbon buildings and deep carbon retrofits will reduce carbon emissions, helping slow rising global temperatures.
CAGBC plays an active role in making zero-carbon buildings the new normal throughresearch,education, and theZero Carbon Building standards.™
What’s a zero carbon building?
A zero-carbon building is highly energy-efficient and minimizes GHG emissions from building materials and operations. Until all emissions can be eliminated, high-quality carbon offsets can be used as a counterbalance.
ZERO CARBON BUILDING SHOWCASE
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Humber Cultural Hub
The art of green building The Humber Cultural Hub (HCH) is part of…
April 2, 2024
Co-operators New Headquarters
The new Co-operators headquarters building located at 101 Cooper Drive, Guelph, aims to…
June 16, 2023
Édifice Jacques-Parizeau
ZCB-Performance certification to guide future Ivanhoé Cambridge projects Located in Montreal’s International District,…
April 28, 2022
Scotia Plaza’s 40 King Street West
Zero carbon building reaches new heights with first ZCB-Performance v2 certification Scotia Plaza’s…
April 28, 2022
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Climate priority
To slow global warming and avoid the worst impacts of climate change, energy efficiency must go up, and carbon emissions must come down. Zero-carbon buildings offer a solution for both new construction and existing buildings, and can spur economic growth and new high-skilled jobs.
Making the Case
CAGBC’s report Making the Case for Zero Carbon Buildings proves zero-carbon buildings are technically feasible and financially viable. Investment in zero-carbon buildings protects against the rising cost of carbon and offers benefits beyond carbon reduction.
Making the Case: Read the report
Decarbonizing Canada’s Large Buildings
Existing buildings must be retrofit or renovated to be zero carbon if Canada is to meet its emissions reduction targets. CAGBC’s study Decarbonizing Canada’s Large Buildings examines how building owners can use deep carbon retrofits to accelerate the decarbonization of large buildings.
Read the summary
LATEST RESEARCH & REPORTS
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Building Our Future: A Low-Carbon Training Strategy For The Trades
Building Our Future: A Low-Carbon Training Strategy for the Trades is a workforce…
April 3, 2024
Full Disclosure: Real Estate’s Climate Leadership in action
In the absence of consistent requirements and support for building performance data disclosure…
October 26, 2022
Green Retrofit Economy Study
CAGBC and the Delphi Group‘s new study, Green Retrofit Economy Study profiles key…
June 2, 2022
Embodied Carbon: A primer for buildings in Canada
This document provides the building sector with the information needed to understand embodied…
March 23, 2022
Zero carbon building jobs
In the race to reduce carbon emissions and meet Canada’s climate targets, zero-carbon buildings and retrofits are an important strategy. Already, the federal government has mandated that all its owned or leased buildings should pursue zero carbon. As more building owners follow suit, demand for green building workers will grow.
The CAGBC report,Canada’s Green Building Engineestimates that direct green building jobs could number 1.5 million by 2030 if the government pursues a green recovery from the economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, investments in workforce reskilling will be needed to meet the technical demands of zero-carbon buildings.
Zero carbon building jobs: Read the report
LATEST NEWS
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Forward-looking ZCB-Design Standard guides ambitious market transformation
Toronto, ON – June 5, 2024 – Today the Canada Green Building Council®…
June 4, 2024
100 buildings certified under ZCB-Standards
The Canada Green Building Council announces that 100 buildings have certified under the…
May 2, 2024
Two projects achieve five consecutive years of zero-carbon performance
Two Canadian buildings are celebrating a significant milestone after achieving zero-carbon operations five…
April 3, 2024
New CAGBC ZCB Interpretation Process
The CAGBC is excited to launch our Zero Carbon Building Standards Interpretations database.…
March 20, 2024