Why Sweden Green Building Council’s NollCO2 certification matters for climate-aligned construction

“It’s about driving the entire sector forward, one verifiable step at a time.” 

- Evelina Enochsson, Head of NollCO2 at SGBC

NollCO2 for net-zero construction

Sweden Green Building Council’s (SGBC) NollCO2 certification is one of Europe’s most rigorous climate-focused certification frameworks. Developed in response to the EU’s 2050 climate neutrality goals and Sweden’s own 2045 net-zero target, NollCO2 is designed to push the construction and real estate sector toward radical emissions reductions across a building’s entire lifecycle.

The result is a strict, binary certification, projects either meet the requirements or they don’t, focused on immediate carbon reduction through verified life-cycle assessment (LCA) and limited offsetting. The framework is shaping market behavior in Sweden and influencing design, procurement, and construction decisions from the earliest planning stages.

“There was a gap in the market — no certification addressed whole-life carbon with the ambition needed to reach net zero.  NollCO2 was created to fill that gap.” —Evelina Enochsson, Head of NollCO2 at SGBC

Core features of the NollCO2 certification

1. A strict whole-life carbon approach

NollCO2 requires a full LCA covering stages A, B, and C of EN 15978 — upfront, use-phase, and end-of-life. Most notably, it sets hard limits for climate impact:

• For new builds: 45% lower climate impact than the project-specific baseline (previously 30%)
• For renovations: 30% lower climate impact than the baseline

NollCO2 isn’t just about ticking boxes. You need verified EPDs, full material transparency, and active optimization of material choices.

2. Required base certification

To ensure holistic sustainability, projects must also achieve an underlying certification (Miljöbyggnad, BREEAM, LEED, or Svanen) before pursuing NollCO2. This positions NollCO2 as a climate-focused layer atop a broader environmental standard.

3. Sharp limits and no grade inflation

There is no bronze/silver/gold tiering. Either your project meets the climate targets or it doesn’t. This makes NollCO2 uniquely credible as a “net-zero ready” label, particularly for municipalities or developers with carbon performance targets.

ADD RECORDING HERE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IlSuvww4Rxk

Functional lessons from four leading NollCO2 projects

Over four years, NollCO2 has certified a range of building types, from residential to labs and logistics. These projects provide valuable learnings for any construction actor working toward net-zero.

Sköndalsvillan: Early EPD pioneers

Completed in 2021, Sköndalsvillan, a senior care home created by Hemsö, the leading owner of properties for public use in Sweden, had to deal with a then-sparse EPD market. They looked for materials with EPDs relentlessly and even required suppliers to create them. Their advocacy catalyzed supply chain transparency in the local market. Low-carbon concrete, timber structures, and optimized prefabrication were among their central low-carbon strategies.

Villa Zero: Unique concept  and carbon literacy

Villa Zero is a small single-family home that prioritized not only emissions reduction but knowledge sharing. Fiskarhedenvillan, Mondo Arkitekter, and Structor Byggteknik Dalarna with support from Region Dalarna,applied timber in structure and façade, organic insulation, and even roof-integrated solar panels. A huge part of their mission was spreading know-how on sustainable construction methods.

Space, Lund: Process maturity pays off

By 2023, firms like Wihlborgs had built enough NollCO2 experience to standardize their methods. For Space, a lab facility with high MEP loads, the emphasis was on fine-tuned material specification, carbon budgeting per discipline, and hybrid structural systems.

Bålsta logistics center: Industrial innovation

Perhaps the most ambitious, the Bålsta project replaced nearly all structural steel with wood and integrated hemp insulation and modular timber loading docks. The innovation is not just the building, it’s the new products they developed and got to market through the project.

How NollCO2 is pushing methodology and market transformation

• Clear carbon benchmarks: The updated NollCO2 2.0 manual increased strictness and set a roadmap towards reaching at least 90% emissions reductions by 2045, reserving max10% for offsetting.
  
  
• Verified LCAs only: SGBC has harmonized its method with IVL guidelines and phased out Excel-based calculations in favor of digital LCA tools like One Click LCA’s EPD Generators.
  
  
• Balanced climate actions: Projects must mitigate most emissions through design — offsetting via carbon removals (e.g., biochar, rewetting peatlands) is limited and tiered to a risk level.
  
  

Implications for industry professionals outside Sweden

While NollCO2 is national, its logic aligns closely with the EU Taxonomy, EN 15978, and the Construction Product Regulations (CPR) It sets a compelling precedent for regulators and clients elsewhere:

• Design teams: Start design-phase climate performance forecasting and LCA modeling early.
  
  
• Contractors: Anticipate material-specific carbon targets, not just budget targets.
  
  
• Manufacturers: NollCO2 does not require every material to have an EPD, but it expects credible, verifiable climate data. Most projects choose EPDs to demonstrate compliance and meet NollCO2’s strict climate targets, since they are the most widely accepted form of third-party verified product data.
  
  
• Investors and developers: Binary certification gives real clarity for ESG metrics.
  
  

NollCO2 shows what’s possible

For markets looking to shift from intent to outcome on net-zero buildings, NollCO2 offers a replicable template. It combines enforceable benchmarks, credible verification, and market-compatible processes. The industry still faces barriers, from limited reuse markets to uneven policy landscapes, but tools and standards exist to navigate them.

How One Click LCA supports NollCO2-certified projects

NollCO2 functionality built in

One Click LCA includes a dedicated NollCO2 compliance module that:

• Aligns with the updated 2.0 manual and IVL LCA guidelines
  
  
• Applies correct baseline comparisons for both new build and renovation
  
  
• Supports both early design, with Carbon Designer 3D, and detailed LCA modeling
  
  
• Compatibility with 20+ integrations and BIM-tools like Revit, Archicad, and IFC files ensures that users can work within their preferred BIM workflows while maintaining compliance

Scalable EPD generation to support material transparency

NollCO2 does not strictly require EPDs for every material, but whenever they are used, they must be third-party verified.. Since most projects rely on EPDs to achieve the required carbon reductions, One Click LCA’s EPD Generator helps manufacturers deliver high-quality, product-specific EPDs at scale, ensuring compliance with EN 15804, ISO 21930, and regional PCRs.

Key features of the EPD Generator include:

• Automated LCI data processing and background dataset access
  
  
• Pre-verified modules for rapid turnaround in compliance-heavy markets
  
  
• Export formats that meet the needs of both EU and international regulations
  
  

For project teams, this means more reliable supplier data. For manufacturers, it enables access to tenders and product specifications that would otherwise be out of reach.

As the market matures, platforms like One Click LCA are a valuable infrastructure for achieving climate targets and ensuring credibility across the construction value chain.