Defining Net-Zero Buildings for Brazil

Internationally, it is recognised that Net-Zero buildings are at the forefront of the development of the sustainable building sector, and will be essential to driving the sector’s evolution towards reducing greenhouse gas emissions and avoiding the worst impacts of climate change. European countries already have legislation requiring new buildings to become Net-Zero within the next few years, and programmes such as the Living Building Challenge are demonstrating construction and operation within the most restrictive limits. The World Green Building Council, through local GBCs, is leading efforts to develop and implement Net-Zero certifications in several countries around the world, to challenge leaders in sustainability in the construction industry.

To begin the process of developing Net-Zero certification for Brazil, GBC Brazil convened a Net-Zero committee to begin the discussion and develop key parameters for eventual certification. To inform the committee and guide the conversations, Mitsidi was hired by Instituto Clima e Sociedade to develop a report on low-carbon buildings in Brazil.

In this report, we consider issues such as:

• Greenhouse gas emissions from the buildings sector, and how they can be reduced;
• Energy consumption in buildings and effective public policy strategies;
• International references on Net-Zero buildings;
• Practical strategies for achieving Net-Zero in Brazilian buildings of different types;
• Case studies; and
• Recommendations for creating a Net-Zero certification.

The Net-Zero committee will launch the first version of the certification at ExpoGBC on August 8, 2017. With the work already well advanced, we are making the full report available here.

Download the report here, and contact our team through our website to learn more about the project.

Enjoy reading!