Net Zero Energy Buildings

The University of Cambridge, in the UK, is known as one of the leading academic institutions in the world and maintaining that reputation in modern times demands progressive strategies such as net zero buildings development. Completed in 2019, the university’s Civil Engineering building has become a beacon of sustainable intentions within a major redevelopment of […]

The United Kingdom (UK) is falling behind in its projected green building roadmap according to the UK’s Green Building Council’s (UKGBC) progress report. The initial 2021 roadmap demanded a 19% drop in emissions over the past four years but the latest data shows just a 13% fall, more than 30% short of the target reduction. […]

The European Parliament and European Council reached a provisional agreement this month to further reduce the emissions and energy use of buildings across the EU. A staggering 75% of Europe’s aging building stock is considered energy inefficient and this latest piece of legislation will strengthen the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) across the Union. […]

Dubbed the “First Space Station on Earth” —the NASA Sustainability Base, has served as an experimental model for smart and net zero buildings for over a decade. In this research note, we explore how the building was designed, constructed, and operated to achieve a positive impact on the environment. NASA teamed up with William McDonough […]

The Elithis Tower in Dijon, France, is the headquarters of the Elithis Group, a building engineering consultant firm. Completed in March 2009, the facility was one of France’s first net zero buildings and is considered the world’s first positive energy office tower developed at a standard cost of construction. At just over 50,000 square feet […]

A zero emissions building is not as easy to define as you may think. Should it include embodied carbon, for example, should efficiency and clean energy generation be specific parts of the definition or should it simply refer to the level of emissions, whatever the approach? These are the kinds of questions being discussed in […]