Architecture 2030 Launches ‘Zero Code’ Standard

Published in the Architectural Record: In mid-April, Architecture 2030, a non-profit organization that aims to make the building sector part of the solution for global warming, released a “Zero Code”—guidelines support the creation of zero net carbon buildings by combining efficiency standards with protocols for renewable energy. The aim is to reverse the upward trend in the built environment’s greenhouse gas emissions, which have been rising by nearly 1 percent per year since 2010. Making sense of this “confusing space” for design teams, owners, and other stakeholders is the Zero Code’s main contribution, says Mark Frankel, NBI’s Technical Director. “It provides a way think about renewables, whether they are on the building or elsewhere, in a larger context.”