The Key Points of a Zero (NET) Carbon Building

Is there such thing as a Zero Carbon Building? 

All the materials and labour involved in the construction process create carbon gasses. 

There is a general understanding of the accepted definition of a ‘building’, so let’s clarify the ‘Zero Carbon’ part. All manufactured components across the globe and later transported to your site will have produced carbon as part of this process and so created a carbon footprint. 

What you can do is construct a building that uses less energy to function than traditional premises. You can power, in part from renewable resources and build in features that will reduce the amount of energy needed to effectively function. You can calculate that the carbon arising out of the operation of your building will be netted off so that no more carbon is created than is neutralised. This type of building is called a Zero NET Carbon. (ZNC).

The products we select to construct with have already created carbon (embodied carbon). We are informed by the United Nations Environment Programme that the component materials of our new buildings have created a large carbon footprint with construction accounting for 39% annually of the global greenhouse gas emissions.

The ‘Net’ part is an attempt to equal the carbon created after the building is complete and in operation (operational carbon) with carbon capture and removal. This is termed carbon sequestration.