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What is a net-zero building?
Net-zero buildings are designed so that the total greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) from their entire life-cycle amount to zero or less. This includes:
- Impacts from operational energy and water use
- Impacts from construction, including material extraction, manufacturing, transportation, installation, waste, repair, replacement, refurbishment, and end-of-life processing
- Benefits from energy exported to other users
- Benefits from reusing materials after the building is decommissioned
- Benefits from permanently sequestered carbon, if applicable
Understanding net-zero concepts
- Net-zero carbon — construction: refers to achieving zero or negative carbon emissions during a building’s construction, from product manufacturing to practical completion. This can be achieved through carbon offsets or by exporting on-site renewable energy.
- Net-zero carbon — operational energy : occurs when the carbon emissions from a building’s annual operational energy use are zero or negative. A net-zero carbon building is highly energy-efficient and uses renewable energy sources, either on-site or off-site, with any remaining emissions offset.
- Net-zero carbon — whole-life : includes the carbon emissions from both the embodied and operational impacts over the entire life of the building, including its disposal, ensuring these emissions are zero or negative.
- Carbon offsetting: involves reducing carbon dioxide or greenhouse gas emissions in one area to compensate for emissions made elsewhere.
Why focus on net-zero buildings?
Net-zero buildings are crucial for both environmental and market reasons. The construction industry accounts for 39% of global carbon emissions, making it a significant contributor to climate change. As energy grids become cleaner, the focus shifts to the emissions from building materials, especially for structures with lifespans over 50 years. This highlights the importance of smart material choices to reduce "embodied carbon," which is a key factor in net-zero building design.
Beyond environmental concerns, there is a growing demand for net zero projects from leading construction clients, cities, and investors. The World Green Building Council’s Advancing Net Zero Commitment has been endorsed by national governments, cities, and major property investors. Many others are also keen to adopt these practices to maintain their reputation as responsible organizations. Even if climate change isn't your primary concern, aligning with market demands is essential.
Global net-zero commitments
The World Green Building Council’s Advancing Net Zero Commitment has gained support from national governments, cities, and major property investors. Organizations like the UK Green Building Council (UKGBC), Royal Institute of British Architects(RIBA), and the American Institute of Architects (AIA), among others, are also eager to adopt net zero practices. Explore these commitments in detail below.
World Green Building Council commitment
By 2030, all new buildings, infrastructure, and renovations must reduce embodied carbon by at least 40%, with significant upfront carbon reduction. Additionally, all new buildings must achieve net zero operational carbon. By 2050, all buildings, including existing ones, along with new infrastructure and renovations, must achieve net zero embodied carbon and net zero operational carbon. This update emphasizes the importance of addressing embodied carbon in construction. The World Green Building Council’s Global Advancing Net Zero campaign aims to promote and accelerate the transition to 100% net zero carbon buildings by 2050.
UKGBC advancing Net Zero programme
The UKGBC launched its Advancing Net Zero programme to drive the transition towards net zero carbon buildings in the UK, focusing on reducing emissions from the construction and property sectors. The launch of the Net Zero Whole Life Carbon Roadmap at COP26 represents a significant step in outlining the actions needed to achieve a fully decarbonized built environment.
The 2030 Challenge for Embodied Carbon
Architecture 2030’s 2030 Challenge for Embodied Carbon calls on the global architecture and building community to commit to reducing the embodied carbon emissions of all buildings, infrastructure, and associated materials. The target is to achieve a global warming potential (GWP) of 40% below the current industry average immediately, with the following goals:- 45% or better by 2025
- 65% or better by 2030
- Zero GWP by 2040
Race to Zero
Race to Zero is the UN-backed global campaign rallying non-state actors — including companies, cities, regions, financial and educational institutions — to take rigorous and immediate action to halve global emissions by 2030 and deliver a healthier, fairer zero carbon world in time.
The AIA 2030 Commitment
The AIA 2030 Commitment is a climate strategy that sets standards and goals for achieving net zero emissions in the built environment. With the built environment responsible for 40% of global emissions, architects, engineers, and owners are urged to take immediate and decisive action to reach net zero emissions by 2030.
C40 Cities pledge
The C40 Cities pledge aims to inspire and mobilize stakeholders to take action and implement policies that:- Reduce embodied emissions by at least 50% for all new buildings and major retrofits by 2030, with a target of 30% by 2025.
- Reduce embodied emissions by at least 50% for all infrastructure projects by 2030, with a target of 30% by 2025.
- Procure and, where possible, use only zero-emission construction machinery from 2025 and ensure all construction sites are zero emission by 2030.
The RIBA 2030 Climate Challenge
The RIBA 2030 Climate Challenge is a framework that sets ambitious targets for architects to help reduce the built environment's carbon footprint and contribute to global climate goals.
How to design net-zero buildings
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- Decrease the demand for virgin materials
- Lower the reliance on fossil fuels
- Repurpose existing buildings and materials.
- Choose longer-lasting products to reduce the need for material replacements over the building’s life cycle
- Design for adaptability, deconstruction, and reuse, ensuring that materials and buildings can be repurposed
- Replace fossil energy with renewable sources
- Sequestering (biogenic) carbon
Additional climate benefits can be gained from the end-of-life use of materials and, in the case of cementitious materials, through their carbonization during and after the building’s lifespan.
Design net-zero buildings with One Click LCA Net Zero Carbon Tool
Standard building LCA tools often struggle with the complexities of net-zero carbon design, especially given the variations in net-zero carbon methodologies. The One Click LCA Net Zero Carbon Tool simplifies this process, allowing you to accurately quantify all carbon-emitting and carbon-reducing options to meet local net-zero carbon requirements. With the One Click LCA Net Zero Carbon Tool, you can:
- Quantify carbon-emitting and carbon-reducing options to ensure compliance with local net-zero carbon definitions
- Evaluate the carbon-reducing impact of exported energy
- Assess the impact of carbon sequestration, whether through biogenic carbon storage in buildings or withdrawals in vegetation
- Calculate the need for carbon offsetting after all other measures have been implemented
