The Zero Emissions Building Exchange

What is ZEBx?



A centre designed to rapidly accelerate the knowledge, capacity and passion for zero emission buildings.

We navigate barriers to advance the development of cost-effective, attractive, zero emission buildings at scale.

We connect the building industry to solutions, identify opportunities and broker relationships.

We foster innovation through dialogues, project tours, curated research, training and demonstrations.


Read more about ZEBx

The Latest from ZEBx

What’s the Plan? Mar 2023, Planning for Building Decarbonization: Affordable Housing

Planning for Building Decarbonization: Affordable Housing Past Event: Mar 8, 2023 Overview Reducing emissions from existing buildings will make a bigger contribution to our 2030 and 2050 climate targets than eliminating emissions from new buildings. The City of Vancouver, Metro […]

BC Energy Step Code Newsletter

BC Energy Step Code Newsletter The BC Energy Step Code newsletter is a monthly bulletin that keeps government, industry, and utility stakeholders informed of recent and upcoming developments with the BC Energy Step Code. It is produced by ZEBx on […]

Decarb Lunch: Jan 2023, Heat Pumps for Step 5 Homes in Northern BC

Heat Pumps for Step 5 Homes in Northern BC Past Event: Jan 27, 2023 @ 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm Overview Cold winters in BC’s northern communities can make designing and building fully electric homes a challenge, but Northern Homecraft […]

ZEBx & BCIT: Tech Demo Series – The Smartflow Panel

Tech Demo Series – The Smartflow Panel Past Event: Jan 18, 2023 Slides: This is an incomplete slide deck. For the complete slide deck and/or additional information on this product and mechanical design, please contact Jay Jagpal at Olympic International. […]

Case Study: Orion – Real-Life Performance of a Step 4, All-Electric Building

Case Study: Orion – Real-Life Performance of a Step 4, All-Electric Building Did Orion achieve its performance targets?   As we highlighted in our June 2021 Construction Cost Analysis of High-Performance, Multi-Family Buildings in BC, Innovation Building Group was able to […]

Decarb Lunch: Nov 2022, The OSO Residential Development

The OSO Residential Development Recorded at Past Event: Dec 1 @ 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm Resources: Overview In October 2022, ZEBx released the sixth case study from the CleanBC Net-Zero Energy-Ready Challenge Winners series. Funded by CleanBC and managed by Integral […]

Case Study: Orion – Real-Life Performance of a Step 4, All-Electric Building

Case Study: Orion – Real-Life Performance of a Step 4, All-Electric Building Did Orion achieve its performance targets?   As we highlighted in our June 2021 Construction Cost Analysis of High-Performance, Multi-Family Buildings in BC, Innovation Building Group was able to […]

Case Study: OSO

Case Study: OSO Net-Zero Energy-Ready Challenge Winner Series The Net-Zero Energy-Ready (NZER) Challenge is a provincial CleanBC incentive program for large buildings (multi-unit residential, office, retail, commercial, institutional, etc.) launched in late 2018. In addition to providing financial support for […]

Case Study: Vancouver City Hall

Case Study: Vancouver City Hall The City of Vancouver embarks on its plan to decarbonize City Hall As part of its multi-phased City Hall decarbonization project, the City of Vancouver installed an Aermec NRP air-to-water heat pump in late 2017 […]

Case Study: Sharing (Heat) is Caring

Case Study: Sharing (Heat) is Caring Deep Emissions Reduction Achieved at Kitsilano Community Centre Community and recreation centres are often a major source of emissions in a municipality’s building portfolio, but recreation centres with ice rinks offer a big opportunity […]

Case Study: Decarbonizing Coquitlam Centre Mall

Case Study: Decarbonizing Coquitlam Centre Mall Capturing Waste Heat with a Heat Recovery Chiller Coquitlam Centre is a mall, owned and operated by Morguard Corporation, with a gross leasable area of 86,400 m2 (930,000 ft2). In January 2016, a Trane RTWD […]

Case Study: Park Place

Case Study: Park Place Adding a Heat Recovery Chiller to Reduce Emissions Park Place, located in downtown Vancouver, is one of the largest office towers in BC. Driven by long-term financial and environmental considerations, the building owners have invested in […]

The ZEBx Annual Report 2021 / 22

The ZEBx Annual Report 2021 / 22 Celebrating four years of ZEBx and the first six months of B2E. In our fourth year of growing capacity, confidence and a community of practice, ZEBx has accomplished a lot! What started as […]

Low-Carbon Energy Systems for New Homes

Jun 2022 A low-carbon energy system (LCES) provides all space heating (and cooling) or all domestic hot water heating by using a source of low-carbon energy like BC Hydro electricity. In essence, it’s a system centered on equipment that generates […]

The Early Adopters of High-Performance: A Trends Analysis

The Early Adopters of High-Performance: A Trends Analysis The Net-Zero Energy-Ready (NZER) Challenge is a provincial CleanBC incentive program for large buildings launched in late 2018 in conjunction with the release of the Province’s climate plan. In addition to providing […]

Video & Playbook: Low Carbon Energy Systems

Feb 2022: Low Carbon Energy Systems From ZEBx’s Net-Zero Energy-Ready Playbook Series Overview High-performance buildings are not as straightforward to design and build as code-minimum buildings. They require more upfront Low-carbon energy systems are the future. They are what the […]

Playbook: Planning for High-Performance Buildings

Jan 2022: Planning for High-Performance Buildings From ZEBx’s Net-Zero Energy-Ready Playbook Series Overview High-performance buildings are not as straightforward to design and build as code-minimum buildings. They require more upfront planning and a more integrated design and development process before […]

Video & Playbook: Thermal Bridging In Net-Zero Energy-Ready Building Design

July 2021: Thermal Bridging In Net-Zero Energy-Ready Building Design From ZEBx’s Net-Zero Energy-Ready Playbook Series Overview Minimizing thermal bridging through the building envelope is a key design aspect for achieving net-zero energy-ready (NZER) buildings. However, this can seem quite complicated […]

Learn from the Leading Edge: Clean BC Net-Zero Energy-Ready Challenge

The Net-Zero Energy-Ready (NZER) Challenge is a provincial CleanBC incentive program forlarge buildings launched in late 2018 in conjunction with the release of the Province’s climateplan. In addition to providing financial support for developments targeting very high levels ofenergy efficiency, […]

Marketing the High-Performance Home

From reconstructing the internal organs of ancient marine animals and reverse engineering destroyed data to designing net-zero homes with PHPP, Lyndsie White, Industrial Designer and Energy Modeller – Cornerstone Architecture, shares what it takes to successfully implement new building technologies and designs while navigating a rapidly evolving market.

Annual Report 2019-2020

ZEBx celebrates its second year in operation! From new program launches to local case studies to hands-on building technology demonstrations, ZEBx continues to establish key partnerships across industry to develop and deliver effective programming to advance zero emissions building solutions. […]

Optimization Through Iteration: the key to designing ZEBs

From reconstructing the internal organs of ancient marine animals and reverse engineering destroyed data to designing net-zero homes with PHPP, Lyndsie White, Industrial Designer and Energy Modeller – Cornerstone Architecture, shares what it takes to successfully implement new building technologies and designs while navigating a rapidly evolving market.

Standardized Case Studies to Catalyze Implementation of ZEBs

Attention building industry: we heard you loud and clear! Your enthusiasm around BC’s Energy Step Code Study Series has inspired ZEBx to showcase more successful projects that will support and expand on the province’s efforts. Later this spring, ZEBx will […]

Roadmap for Industry Reports: An Interview with Helen Goodland

Overview Progressive building policies and codes such as the BCEnergy Step Code and Vancouver’s Zero Emissions Building Plan have injected into local industry an entirely new set of priorities and systems for how we design and construct our buildings. Passive […]

What’s the Plan? Mar 2023, Planning for Building Decarbonization: Affordable Housing

Planning for Building Decarbonization: Affordable Housing Past Event: Mar 8, 2023 Overview Reducing emissions from existing buildings will make a bigger contribution to our 2030 and 2050 climate targets than eliminating emissions from new buildings. The City of Vancouver, Metro […]

Decarb Lunch: Jan 2023, Heat Pumps for Step 5 Homes in Northern BC

Heat Pumps for Step 5 Homes in Northern BC Past Event: Jan 27, 2023 @ 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm Overview Cold winters in BC’s northern communities can make designing and building fully electric homes a challenge, but Northern Homecraft […]

ZEBx & BCIT: Tech Demo Series – The Smartflow Panel

Tech Demo Series – The Smartflow Panel Past Event: Jan 18, 2023 Slides: This is an incomplete slide deck. For the complete slide deck and/or additional information on this product and mechanical design, please contact Jay Jagpal at Olympic International. […]

Decarb Lunch: Nov 2022, The OSO Residential Development

The OSO Residential Development Recorded at Past Event: Dec 1 @ 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm Resources: Overview In October 2022, ZEBx released the sixth case study from the CleanBC Net-Zero Energy-Ready Challenge Winners series. Funded by CleanBC and managed by Integral […]

ZEBx & BCIT: Tech Demo Series – Made-in-BC, High-Efficiency HRVs

Tech Demo Series – Made-in-BC, High-Efficiency HRVs Past Event: Nov 29, 2022 Slides: Overview This ZEBx event was hosted by BCIT  and took place in their High-Performance Building Lab on their Burnaby campus. This Event For this Tech Demo workshop, we […]

Decarb Lunch: Oct 2022, UBC’s Latest & Greatest: Passive House, All-Electric and Solar

UBC’s Latest & Greatest: Passive House, All-Electric and Solar Recorded at Past Eventt: Oct 28 @ 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm Resources: Overview ZEBx has showcased many high-performance buildings over the years, but with the addition of photovoltaics on the […]

GET INVOLVED



We welcome conversations about how you could support the acceleration of zero emissions building in British Columbia and beyond. Get in touch to speak with our team about how we could amplify your work through ZEBx programming, or for further information about how your invaluable support can champion low energy design and construction.


Get Connected


PROGRAM AREAS



ZEBx leads these program areas

Building to Electrification Coalition

Carbon Leadership Forum Vancouver

SUPPORTERS



The following organizations provide ZEBx with highly valued financial support and strategic guidance


HOST ORGANIZATION


ZEBx is proud to be hosted by the Metro Vancouver Zero Emission Innovation Centre (ZEIC). ZEIC is part of the Low Carbon Cities Canada (LC3) network established by the Government of Canada and the Federation of Canadian Municipalities. ZEIC’s mandate is to catalyze, accelerate and scale climate action related to green buildings, renewable energy and transportation through a combination of impact investing, granting, partnerships, research and capacity-building.


TERRITORIAL ACKNOWLEDGEMENT


The Metro Vancouver Zero Emissions Innovation Centre acknowledges and is honored to work on the unceded and traditional lands of the q̓ic̓əy̓(Katzie), qʼʷa:n̓ƛʼən̓(Kwantlen), kʷikʷəƛ̓əm (Kwikwetlem), xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), qiqéyt (Qayqayt), sɛmiˈɑːmu(Semiahmoo), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), stɔːloʊ (Sto:lo), sc̓əwaθən məsteyəxʷ (Tsawwassen), and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh).