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Interview with Mike Manning and Catherine Marshall

The husband-and-wife team at Greenbilt Homes (greenbilthomes.ca) have turned their attention to FlexPlex® – their multiplex building that easily flexes from duplex, triplex, fourplex to single-family. This is a new venture for this 15-year-old Passive House company. Traditionally, Greenbilt has been a custom home builder working with both modular and conventional technology.

1. How did you get the idea for FlexPlex

We started ruminating about multiplexes when our kids were teenagers as a way that they could generate the rental income to afford to own a place. But we wanted them to have the option to enlarge their personal area by removing space from the rental area. Eventually, we came up with a “FlexPlex” prototype. We decided to build a duplex version for ourselves as both our retirement home, and as a retirement income generator. Our FlexPlex could also turn into a single-family multigenerational home if the “kids” have kids and want to live with “Mom and Dad”.  We’re waiting!

2. How did you develop a flexible design and how does it work?

We designed a four 2-bedroom apartment building. Then we stress-tested the building infrastructure by seeing how it would work in a duplex, and a single-family home. We also focused on the aspects of each configuration that make it work and adjusted the design accordingly. There are so many ways the building can flex from one configuration to another, so we’ll give you one example.

If we wanted to turn the upper duplex into two 2-bedroom apartments:

Floor 1: use hidden infrastructure to add an extra bathroom, and in-suite laundry; frame two interior walls and open up a hidden doorway in an existing wall; and move one door.

Floor 2: use hidden infrastructure to add a kitchen; move one door.

3. How can owners benefit from FlexPlex features?

Many buildings become functionally obsolete because they were designed with a single purpose. For example, office buildings with large floorplates likely can’t be adapted to another use. Because of the floorplate and the infrastructure, renovation to change the FlexPlex are quick and easy.

As the FlexPlex can have up to eight bed/bath combinations and four kitchen/food prep areas, there’s a lot of optionality in the design. This building could have multiple configurations as a residence. In addition, it could be a small institutional or hospitality building. 

4. It seems unusual to copyright a construction process.

Why did you do that?

We wanted to protect our IP. But regardless of the legalities, now that we have given SABMag the drawings of the four-unit design, our secrets are out. Perhaps a better question is “why are you sharing this proprietary information?” We are getting toward the end of our careers, and we decided to try to inspire others in sustainable design to keep pushing forward with new ideas. We feel that it’s socially imperative for more innovation to occur to densify sustainably and affordably. We won’t maintain social cohesion if new housing sells at $1,600 per square foot. 
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Interview with Michael Sugar

Starting on the path to zero

The Canada Green Building Council recently hired a new Director of Zero Carbon Buildings. Michael Sugar comes to the Council from the energy sector, with a background in clean energy and energy efficiency. Michael is heading up the Zero Carbon program at CAGBC, which includes the standards, as well as initiatives to help accelerate Canada’s shift toward zero carbon buildings and retrofits.

You recently joined CAGBC as Director of Zero Carbon buildings. What’s your mandate in this role?

As an industry-driven organization, we’re focused on helping provide solutions that enable market transformation through carbon reductions. It’s a big task, which requires Canada’s building sector aligning to global targets that include 40 percent embodied carbon reduction and complete elimination of operational carbon in new construction by 2030 – not to mention aggressively decarbonizing existing buildings.

My job is to help provide support for the sector. That’s why our Zero Carbon Building Standards were designed to provide a pathway that’s flexible, simple and works for most building types and all geographies yet can still result in achieving zero.

You’ve seen a sharp increase in registrations for ZCB certification – what’s driving that?

This year we saw a significant increase in adoption of the Zero Carbon Building Standards. In fact, we doubled the annual number of ZCB-Design certifications and tripled the annual number of ZCB-Performance certifications.

A few things are driving this shift. First, the adoption of ESG targets as a means of tracking and measuring the success of sustainability investments. Second, the rising risk posed by climate change and rising carbon costs which requires the real estate sector to future-proof investments by ensuring they are clean-energy and low-carbon ready. Access to sustainable financing products is also helping.

What role will architects play in the transition to zero carbon buildings?

Architects are integral to the shift to zero carbon buildings. Decisions made at the design stage significantly impact a project’s ability to cut operational and especially embodied carbon. Finding innovative, creative and marketable solutions will help shift zero carbon buildings and retrofits from niche to norm.

How do CAGBC’s ZCB-Design and ZCB-Performance define Transition Planning guidance? Why is it important?

To reach our climate targets, we need to start decarbonizing buildings today. But decarbonization is a process, and transition planning is something that can be done today, for every building. A Transition Plan is a costed, strategic plan that outlines how a building will adapt over time to remove combustion from building operations.

CAGBC is working with our technical committees to build out the tools and supports the building sector needs to advance transition plans and start on the journey towards zero carbon. Our goal is to remove barriers and encourage building owners to take this first step with us.

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INTERVIEW WITH

Irene Rivera and Esther van Eeden: Designing the Passive House Putman Family YWCA

Irene Rivera, associate architect, and Esther van Eeden, director of high-performance buildings, at Kearns Mancini Architects in Toronto (kmai.com), were part of the design team of the Passive House certified Putman Family YWCA in Hamilton which received the Technical Award in the SABMag 2023 Canadian Green Building Awards, https://sabmagazine.com/2023-winners-sabmag-canadian-green-building-awards/

1. Kearns Mancini had completed some Passive House projects previously, but why did you recommend Passive House construction for this project?

Beyond energy efficiency, KMAI sees Passive House as a pathway to resiliency and social equity. During early client presentations on what Passive House can do, the client noticed that their core values and strategic priorities aligned perfectly with Passive House goals, and that is what got things rolling. KMAI worked with the client to provide the information necessary to secure environmental and energy incentives. In the end, the client embraced the benefits of Passive House design.

2. What drew you to use all precast concrete construction as opposed to other materials?

The client wanted a building that was robust, both physically and aesthetically. They also wanted a factorybuilt solution to reduce the construction risks, so a precast concrete building was a good solution. The project was delivered with CCDC 5B-2010 Construction Management. The total precast system satisfies thermal, airtightness, and structural criteria in factory-built components from a local manufacturer. This reduced the use of traditional formwork, auxiliary elements, erection time and waste.

3. How did you adapt the Passive House detailing to precast concrete?

The precast concrete manufacturer adapted its wall system to meet Passive House requirements. After some research, a higher thermal conductivity exterior wall insulation was used, and the structural wall ties were swapped to achieve the maximum structural strength with the lowest thermal transmittance. The next step was to connect the different parts of the building envelope; there were many changes and design iterations until we found the optimal solution to meet the PH intent, constructability, and cost-effectiveness. Workshops were held to walk all disciplines through where the penetrations would be and how they would be insulated and sealed. This ensured correct locations for pre-drilling holes before the panels arrived at the site and avoided any changes on site.

4. What are the main lessons have you learned in the Passive House projects you have completed?

One of the main lessons is having the Construction Manager and the manufacturer on board at an early stage of the design. This is crucial as throughout this project valuable insights into elements like design constraints, constructability, logistics, or specific trade scheduling can help reduce risks, costs, and expedite construction, making sure the Passive House certification can be met. Even the staff from the YWCA went through some passive house training. Another equally important lesson is that Passive House Design not be at odds with good architectural design, and the Putman YWCA building is the perfect example. This project redefines the way people think of energy-efficient design within the context of providing affordable housing.

5. Do you see Passive House design gaining more prominence in your future projects?

Definitely. Passive House is the most rigorous energy performance standard in the world. It doesn’t take a tick-box approach to sustainability, and clients are starting to recognize the true energy savings Passive House buildings deliver and the value it unlocks.

High-performance buildings are going to be the new normal and we as architects have a deep responsibility to act and not ignore the climate impacts of our buildings.

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Interview with Adam Auer

Adam Auer, President and CEO of the Cement Association of Canada talks about the industry’s Concrete Zero Action Plan.

1. Why did the cement and concrete industry decide to release an action plan to net-zero by 2050?

Concrete is the most used building material in the world. Our homes and communities need concrete, as do many sectors of the economy. It’s also the second largest industrial carbon emitter. The cement and concrete industry represents about 7 per cent of CO2 emissions globally, and almost 1.5 per cent in Canada. As a large emitter, we are committed to leadership in reducing emissions and offering solutions to climate change. A net-zero world will, literally and figuratively, rest on concrete.

2. What levers will be most crucial in reaching net-zero by 2050?

There is no one magic solution that will get us to net-zero. It is going to take many actions. Our Action Plan focuses on what can be done today using existing technologies and through collaboration with government, the construction sector and others on, for example, lower carbon and materially efficient design and construction. Research and development will continue to play an important role in accelerating new technologies and approaches, such as carbon utilization technologies.

3. What actions is the industry taking to reduce emissions before 2050?

Our industry is focusing on five main actions or areas to reduce carbon emissions to reach net-zero by 2050. We refer to the five areas as the 5 C’s: Clinker, Cement, Concrete, Construction, and Carbon Uptake. For each C we are taking a range of actions to reduce their respective emissions. As an example, to reduce clinker emissions we are replacing fossil fuels used as a fuel source in manufacturing with lower carbon fuels, using less clinker, and investing in carbon capture. For example, this past April, Heidelberg Materials North America partnered with the Government of Canada on a carbon capture and storage project that will be North America’s first full-scale capture facility at a cement plant and will produce the world’s first net-zero cement without the purchase of offsets.

4. How is the cement and concrete industry coordinating its efforts with the architecture, engineering, and construction industries?

This is an incredibly important question, as we cannot reach net-zero alone. We need the users of concrete – i.e. specifiers, architects, developers, engineers, etc. – to work with us on everything from optimized low-carbon concrete mixes to new approaches to low-carbon, materially efficient, and climate resilient design and construction as well as to reduce waste through circular economy practices.

5. What work has been done to ensure the data in the action plan is accurate and achievable?

All cement facilities in Canada meet consistent national regulatory reporting requirements and all grey cement producers also voluntarily report production and emissions data to the Global Cement and Concrete Association ‘Getting the Numbers Right’ database. At the same time, the availability of data across the cement, concrete and construction value chain has many constraints, which we will work to improve over time. Our Action Plan shares the best data and modelling available to us and shows our commitment to transparency.

Our modelling was developed thoughtfully with input from our members and allies across the cement and concrete value chain and represents a consensus on the solutions available to drive our sector toward net-zero. It also represents a shared commitment to continue our internal collaboration to improve continuously the quality and scope of our data to further refine our modelling and support continuous improvement in transparency and reporting.

As a demonstration of this commitment, Canada’s concrete industry is the first (and only) construction material to have published regionally specific Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) as a way of quantifying and confirming industry improvements in carbon reduction.
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Interview with Graeme Stewart of ERA Architects

Graeme Stewart is a principal of ERA Architects which was the lead architect of the Ken Soble Tower transformation, one of the largest EnerPHit-certified projects in the world. www.eraarch.ca

1. How did ERA Architects become involved in the Ken Soble Tower project?

ERA Architects had been working for over a decade on the Tower Renewal Project, a strategy for the revitalization of Canada’s aging postwar apartment neighbourhoods, through which we gained experience on tower retrofits. As part of the Hamilton City Housing portfolio of buildings, the Ken Soble Tower was in a distressed, abandoned condition. Based on our experience, we were brought in to do an assessment of what to do: tear it down or retrofit.

2. Deciding to do an EnerPHit transformation was a bold decision. How did you arrive there?

I am pleased to say that the decision was largely made for us by Hamilton City Housing CEO Tom Hunter. He came from the health care sector and said that we build world-class hospitals and need to do the same for our public housing. He understood the long-term benefits of doing an EnerPHit transformation, and the project moved ahead from there.

3. Once the project was a go, how did the process work of coordinating the various disciplines in the team?

When Hamilton City Housing decided on pursuing EnerPHit the intent from the start was to achieve certification. This kept everyone ‘honest’. It was crucial to have a fully co-ordinated team which we assembled based on our experience. The team included: Entuitive, JVM Consulting, Transsolar, Reinbold Engineers and the certifier from PHI in Germany among others. At every step – during design development, review of assemblies, costing reviews – the team always asked if we were meeting PHPP targets. We then worked with PCL on construction mock-ups that would meet the criteria of EnerPHit and serve as the standard should alternate details or products be suggested by the trades. Through this process we arrived at a tight ‘specs package’ such that the project met performance and was ultimately certified.

4. What did you learn from this first project about what worked and what could be improved?

As far as we know, this is the largest residential EnerPHit project in the world. The precedents for this type of work come from Europe but we realized that we need solutions that meet North American practices, products and trade familiarity. Our design made this its focus. The construction manager PCL was critical in the strength of their quality control regime, but some trades wondered early on if the PassiveHouse was overkill.  Yet as testing procedures became easier the consensus was these were key practices for use in future projects, Passive House or overwise.

There are two other observations. We would love to have trades more familiar with high-performance retrofits, and a supply chain that can provide more of the types of products for this type of work. But the evolution will happen. Since we went to tender three years ago, many more suitable products have become available.

5. Is the Ken Soble Tower transformation a practical template for the many similar towers in our building stock?

A resounding yes. The project gave us a lot of elbow room to try things because it was empty. We can apply the lessons learned to an occupied building. It was cheaper by half to renovate the Ken Soble Tower rather than tear it down and replace. The economics will improve further as the supply chain and trade skills improve. The incentive is an improved quality of life in revitalised buildings that are quiet, more comfortable, and more economic to operate in the long term. 
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Interview with Lucie Andlauer of Subterra Renewables

Lucie Andlauer is CEO of Subterra Renewables, a Toronto-based company which takes geothermal energy beyond the installation step. subterrarenewables.com

1. What does Subterra do?

Subterra invests in the renewable energy efforts of our clients and enables them to build socially conscious developments. We build, own, and operate geothermal energy systems to provide 24/7 clean, renewable energy and ultimately replace conventional systems. Subterra works with our clients to enable them to meet future sustainability and energy efficiency requirements. Our goal is to simplify going green. Our geothermal systems offset natural gas consumption by making the building reliant on electricity, with an overall more efficient system as a result of utilizing the ground over traditional mechanical equipment. Subterra coordinates closely with the consultant teams of buildings in order to customize a system in accordance with the trifecta (customer, client, and environment).

2. Can you explain a little more the range of services you provide? 

Subterra Renewables specialises in geothermal heating and cooling systems for multi-residential and commercial buildings. These systems exchange heat with the earth below the building to create a thermal storage battery that discharges when the building needs heat in the winter and recharges when the building needs to shed heat in the summer.

We offer an end to end design and installation service as well as an ‘Energy as a Service’ utility program where we invest in the renewable energy asset to remove the barrier of initial capital investment. The following is the complete list of services offered by Subterra:

• System design (engineering)

• Energy as-a service

Complete geothermal system installation owned by Subterra at no upfront cost to the developer in exchange for an ongoing monthly renewable energy fee.

• Design-Build

Complete geothermal system financed and owned by the building owner; operations, maintenance, and ongoing reporting can be provided by Subterra.

• System Acquisition

Acquisition of existing/operating geothermal assets and/or portfolios.

• Geothermal Drilling

Complete drilling services for vertical borehole drilling for depths below 600’ – 900’ +

• Shoring & Earth Retention

Variety of services related to the early stages of projects that can be arranged in succession with geothermal drilling.

• Test Hole and Thermal Conductivity Testing

We can drill test holes and have thermal conductivity testing equipment to analyze test holes and project feedback prior to finalizing a design.

3. Does Subterra effectively act as a utility?

Yes – because we own, operate, and maintain the system. By doing so, we can charge an all-inclusive renewables energy fee.

4. With a new project, who do you deal with to consider using geothermal?

We get approached by the main proponents in the development community, namely architects, developers, and construction managers etc.

5. Is it practical to say that a system like yours could replace fossil fuels for heating most buildings?

Absolutely, geothermal can offset all-natural gas in buildings. In practicality, many engineers prefer to have a small component of the building connected to natural gas and domestic hot water. We are actively trying to make the switch to go green entirely.

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Viewpoint: Dowel laminated timber: a step towards circularity in construction

By Sigi Liebmann

Wood is widely promoted as a renewable and  environmentally responsible material, based on the third-party certification of sustainable forest management (SFM) practices. While this can be successfully argued at the scale of the forest, until now, the argument has not applied equally at the scale of the building.

All durable wood products will store the carbon they have sequestered while part of a living tree, until destroyed by decay or fire at the end of their service life. However, this remains a cradle to grave evaluation that fails to consider the potential for reclamation and repurposing of the product, the GHG emissions associated with manufacture, and the potential environmental and health impacts of any adhesives used.

As mass timber fabricators, we believe that solid wood is the best material to build with from an ethical standpoint, and that using natural timber, as uncontaminated as possible, is the most sustainable approach to take for the planet and for future generations. This is why we chose to manufacture 100% wood, no-glue dowel laminated timber (DLT), a product that is 100% recyclable, reusable and does not produce contaminated waste.

DLT is a relatively new arrival in Canada, although it has been available in Europe for more than 20 years.  To produce DLT, layers of dimension lumber are assembled face to face. A hole is drilled through the entire assembly and a wooden dowel is inserted to hold it all together. No glue, no nails, just the wooden dowel. The wood boards have a moisture content of 10-15%, while the dowels are bone dry. As soon as the dowels are installed and in contact with the surrounding wood, they will absorb the moisture from the boards and expand. This forms a mechanical connection that is incredibly strong.

This type of assembly results in ‘stacked’ DLT panels, so called because ‘stacked’ is a direct translation of the German term ‘Brettstapel’. The surface appearance can be flat or fluted – the latter when 2×4 and 2×6 material is alternated.

In addition to stacked DLT panels there can be crossed DLT panels, a more environmentally responsible product than glue-bonded, cross laminated timber (CLT). In ‘crossed’ DLT, the large sized panels are manufactured by assembling multiple layers of lumber on top of one another, each layer being at different angles to the one below, and pegging them together with hardwood dowels. DLT need not be glued. Windows and doors are left open as the panel is laid up, rather than being cut out from a finished solid panel. This process minimizes the amount of ‘waste’ material produced. 

Sigi Liebmann is a Swiss trained master timber framer and owner of International Timberframes Inc. in Golden BC.

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Interview with Jeff Gold of Nexus Circular LLC

Jeff Gold is the COO/founder of Nexus, the leading circular waste-plastics solution company based in Atlanta that converts landfill-bound plastics to reusable plastics. nexuscircular.com

1. What does Nexus do exactly?

Nexus converts waste plastics that are typically bound for a landfill or incineration into chemical feedstocks that are used to create new, virgin plastics.  We take the polyethylene, polypropylene, and polystyrene that cannot be economically recycled through mechanical systems and transform them into valuable liquids and waxes that our partners use to create a huge range of new plastic products.  Our process is very energy efficient and by directing our output into new plastics versus fuel products that are burned, we sequester the carbon in those plastics and prevent their entry into the environment as harmful greenhouse gases.

2. How does the waste plastics conversion work?

Nexus uses a process known as pyrolysis, or “thermal depolymerization” to transform waste plastic back into its basic molecular forms. This process works by applying heat to the plastic but excluding all oxygen so that instead of burning, the plastic simply liquefies and decomposes into a variety of hydrocarbon molecules. Most plastics are made of long hydrocarbon chains and pyrolysis provides a way to “cut” those chains into smaller pieces that become liquids or waxes once they are cooled.  It is these liquids and waxes that can then be used in the industrial systems that make new plastic resins.

3. Is the conversion process truly a ‘closed loop’?

We consider our process to be “closed loop” because all the plastic that goes into the system is converted into a new product that is captured at various points in the system.  For example, most of the incoming plastic is converted to liquids and a wax product that is collected and shipped off directly to our off-take partners.  The process also produces a flammable gas that we likewise capture and then use to heat the pyrolysis reactors.  A fourth product that results from the process is a carbon-black char material that forms in the reactors from small amounts of paper and cardboard that are mixed in with the plastic feedstock and from normal decomposition of plastic when it contacts very hot surfaces.  This char is collected and can be used as an asphalt additive. In this way, all the products formed from the plastic feedstock are converted, captured, and used in some way making the process truly closed loop.

4. What have been the challenges you have encountered?

Converting waste plastic at a commercial scale into useful products and doing so economically is very hard.

The principle technical challenges we have encountered revolve primarily around feedstock in terms of collection, contamination, and composition. The challenge has been to create a highly adaptable system that can accept a wide variation of inputs and produce a uniform, consistent, high-quality output.  Maintaining reactor performance in the face of a variable feedstock stream has also posed technical challenges around managing heat distribution to yield our desired products while minimizing energy consumption which is why we have taken all the learnings from our first plant and are now applying them to a third- generation design.

Another challenge involves proving that chemical recycling is a viable technology in the fight against plastic pollution.  There have been numerous press releases and announcements by groups in the chemical recycling space touting a solution that fails to materialize and when this happens often enough, a perception is created that this is something that does not really work.  While there is a lot of progress yet to be made, Nexus has shown that the technology can be effective and that it merits serious consideration.

5. What is the future? How far to do you see an operation like yours going?

We feel very optimistic about the future!  We have a team in place that has built an innovative and economic process that addresses the pressing environmental issue of plastic pollution and we have proven that Nexus is one of the few companies that can deliver our product at commercial scale and consistent quality.

Demand for our products is extremely high as many companies work towards satisfying consumer demands to increase the amount of certified recycled content in their products and take positive steps to improve the planet’s environmental quality.  Our challenge now is to scale the business at a rate that can keep pace with our customer’s needs, and to that end, we are working very hard to establish new locations both at home and overseas. Given that the use of plastics is expected to continue its upward trend over the next several,Nexus is poised to expand on its industry leadership position and play a major role in combatting plastic pollution for years to come.

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Interview with Tom Todoruk of Tempeff Inc.


1. When did Tempeff start up and what exactly does it do?

The company was started in March of 2008 however the basic technology goes back even farther, approximately 35 years. Our DualCore® energy recovery system can reach up to 90% sensible heat recovery without the requirement of an energy robbing defrost strategy even when the outside air temperature reaches -40°F. The equipment is customizable, allowing engineers and owners the opportunity to utilize its efficiency and flexibility to bring down over all energy consumption.

2. Why do you say that your energy recovery equipment has the highest efficiency available?

Most heat recovery ventilators use a single core system which can freeze when outside temperatures drop below freezing. The system is then required to implement a defrost strategy which will bring down efficiency and increase energy consumption. Having to incorporate a defrost strategy means that the heating system has to be designed to handle the full heating load which adds additional system cost and reduces overall efficiency. Using a proven DualCore® system that will not require a defrost strategy allows the system designer to size any additional heat from supply air temperature off the Tempeff unit, reducing energy consumption as well as system cost.

3. How does the DualCore® system work?

Our DualCore® design uses two heat exchangers, compared to the single exchanger in conventional units. Outside air goes through one exchanger for one minute at a time before switching to the other exchanger, so it doesn’t have time to build up frost. In winter, condensation will form on the exhausting heat exchanger. When the cycle changes, the outdoor air is passed over the heat exchanger, warms up, and that moisture is added back to the airstream. This reduces the need for added humidity in the conditioned space. The result is that one heat exchanger is always delivering conditioned air to the space.

4. What is the performance record?

Our system has been tested in a climactic chamber at the National Research Council which replicated indoor and outdoor temperatures and relative humidities designed for Artic conditions. The unit functioned well with sustained outside temperatures of -35°C and 50% RH.  There was no restriction of airflow or blockage of the air stream so that the ERV continuously provided conditioned outdoor air. With few moving parts, maintenance of the system is very low. Due to the cycling nature of the heat exchangers, dust rarely builds up on them, eliminating the need for frequent cleaning. Numerous LEED-certified and high-performance buildings, such as the Fort St. John Passive House published in the Summer 2020 issue of SABMag, use Tempeff DualCore® ERVs.

5. What’s on the horizon for Tempeff? 

Covid-19 has placed focus on the requirement for increased ventilation. In some cases having a centralized system may not be the best answer in multi-functional spaces or in retro-fit applications where space is at a premium. To address this concern, Tempeff has launched the RGSP-K, a new configurable ERV utilizing DualCore® energy recovery for smaller airflows at a friendly price point. This equipment is capable of up to 90% sensible heat recovery without a defrost strategy. This new format can be ceiling mounted and configured in many different ways to suit tight and challenging project conditions.

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Interview with Fin MacDonald of the CaGBC

Zero Carbon Building Standard Version 2

Fin MacDonald guided the recent launch of the second  version of the CaGBC Zero Carbon Building Standard,  which is designed to accelerate adoption of  zero carbon building practices. 

1. For context, when did the CaGBC start advocating for Zero Carbon design? 

Canada Green Building Council has always been interested in lowering the carbon footprint of Canada’s built environment and decreasing greenhouse gas emissions, as it significantly impacts the health of both people and the environment. LEED already takes into account carbon in its holistic approach, but things became much more urgent after the Paris agreement in 2016. A standard focused on prioritizing carbon emissions reduction was created at that time to recognize the role green buildings could play in avoiding the worst impacts of climate change.

2. What has the CaGBC learned that has prompted the release of the version 2 standard?

Canada’s buildings contribute 17 per cent of all carbon emissions – and a further 11 per cent when embodied carbon from construction is considered. To limit the rise in global temperature to 1.5°C, the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate  Change (IPCC) updated their recommended targets to 50 per cent GHG emissions reduction by 2030 and 100 per cent reduction by 2050. The cost of not adopting a ZCB approach increases with each passing day. Every building built today that is not designed to achieve zero carbon emissions is contributing an increase in carbon emissions – and will likely require major investments to retrofit to zero. To achieve these targets, all sources of emissions need to be considered, not just the energy related emissions. The bar also needs to be raised on energy performance. That realization prompted us to make changes to the standard, that balance the rigour needed to lower carbon emissions, but also create more flexibility in how projects get there in order to open pathways to zero for a broader range of projects. We just can’t afford to wait any longer – we need all buildings to be zero carbon buildings. 

3. What does the version 2 standard entail?

Version 2 draws on learnings from over 20 real-world ZCB-projects. These projects demonstrate that the industry is ready to raise the bar on expanded requirements for embodied carbon and energy efficiency. At the same time, Version 2 aims to get more buildings to zero, faster, by providing more options for different design strategies.

The key points of the version 2 standard are:

Embodied Carbon: Projects must now take responsibility for embodied carbon, and reduce it as much as possible before offsetting. This includes the carbon emissions for the building’s life-cycle including those associated with the manufacture and use of construction materials.

Refrigerants: ZCB Standard v2 encourages best practices to minimize potential leaks of refrigerants that, when released, can have significant short-term impacts on climate change.

Energy Efficiency: ZCB Standard v2 promotes the efficient use of clean energy with more stringent energy efficiency and airtightness requirements, but maintains the flexibility and accessibility of v1.

Innovation: ZCB-Design encourages projects to develop new skills and create markets for new technologies by requiring projects to demonstrate two innovative strategies to reduce carbon emissions.

4. The CaGBC also has a Zero Carbon Performance Standard. What is that about?

The first version of the Zero Carbon Building Standard had two pathways, one for design and one for performance. With ZCB Standard v2, we’ve broken these out into two documents for ease of use. Where ZCB-Design certification has requirements that guide the design of new buildings and the retrofit of existing ones to enable them to achieve zero carbon operations (including consideration of embodied carbon, refrigerants and airtightness), ZCB-Performance certifies buildings that achieve zero carbon operations year after year—a verification that is required annually. The two certifications work well together, but ZCB-Performance can be used on its own as well.

5. Is it the objective of the CaGBC to move the construction industry to Zero Carbon building?

Absolutely. CaGBC has proven that zero carbon buildings are technically feasible and financially viable. I don’t believe it is hyperbole to say that making the move to zero carbon is critical if we are to stand a chance of slowing the worst impacts of climate change. 

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