The Canada Green Building Council (CaGBC) has opened public registration for Canada’s first Zero Carbon Building (ZCB) Program.
The program provides third-party verification of compliance for zero carbon design and performance. The standard is designed to be broadly applicable across many types of new and existing buildings.
It was created to align with recent and upcoming federal and provincial policies that target net zero performance. CaGBC has been working with 16 Zero Carbon Pilot Projects across the country. This group represents the broad applicability of the standard, with both new and existing projects ranging in size from 20,000 sf to 1.3 million sf located in many parts the country.
Many of the pilot projects are completing the design stage and have found the ZCB Standard key to shaping their design strategies, CaGBC said in a press release. “Although we’ve been proponents and early adopters of high performance and sustainable building features, we recognize that incremental improvement is not moving the dial far enough and that we need a fundamental and transformative shift in how we design, specify, and build-out our projects,” said Kirk Robinson of Delta Land Development, one of the companies working on a pilot project.
Those interested in registering for the CaGBC ZCB Program or in learning more about the standard and its requirements can visit cagbc.org/zerocarbon.
Related Stories
| Mar 18, 2014
Canadian wood industry pushes for ‘wood first’ legislation on mid-rise public projects
The wood lobby is pushing Canadian provinces to pass “wood first” legislation specifying wood framed structures as the default for mid-rise public works projects where warranted.
| Mar 13, 2014
USGBC hits back at Environmental Policy Alliance criticism
The Washington, D.C.-based Environmental Policy Alliance has launched a campaign to make the claim that LEED-certified buildings are less energy efficient than other buildings. In response, USGBC told its members: "Don’t be fooled, the Environmental Policy Alliance isn’t the 'EPA' you might think."
| Mar 13, 2014
North Carolina board recommends switch to six-year code update cycle
In a nine to six vote, the North Carolina State Building Code Council on March 11 approved moving the commercial building code (except for the electrical code) to a six-year cycle for updating instead of a three-year cycle.
| Mar 13, 2014
OSHA’s funding disclosure requirement for those offering silica rule comments draws ire
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration is requiring those who submit comments on the silica rule to disclose their funding sources for their scientific research to avoid conflict of interest.
| Mar 13, 2014
EPA publishes ‘best management practices’ rule on erosion, stormwater at construction sites
The Environmental Protection Agency published a new rule this month that will require the construction, housing, and utility sectors to carry out "best management practices" in order to prevent erosion and harmful stormwater discharges at construction sites.
| Mar 5, 2014
San Francisco board seeks remedies to code enforcement complaints
Two supervisors charged that a lack of adequate code enforcement has led to blight from dilapidated or unfinished buildings.
| Mar 5, 2014
Obama proposes $1 billion for climate change risk mitigation
President Barack Obama would spend $1 billion to “better understand the projected impacts of climate change,” encourage local action to reduce future risk, and fund technology and infrastructure that will be more resilient to climate change.
| Mar 5, 2014
Southern Forest Products Assn. revamps pressure-treated pine specifications
It provides information to assist with the proper specification and use of pressure-treated Southern Pine materials.
| Mar 5, 2014
UL, PRI Construction Materials Technologies reach product certification agreement
Underwriters Laboratories (UL) Inc. reached an agreement with PRI Construction Materials Technologies LLC (PRI) through which PRI will participate in UL's "Data Acceptance Program," enabling the acceptance of data generated at PRI toward UL product certification.
| Mar 5, 2014
Quebec's building code doesn't meet needs of its aging population
The issue was raised in the wake of a tragic fire at a seniors' residence in L'Isle-Verte.
