Carbon-neutral building conceptual evolution, research advancement and practical application: A systematic review

Abstract

Carbon-neutral building is an important step to reach the target of carbon peak and carbon neutrality in the society. Therefore, many scholars have conducted studies on different aspects of carbon-neutral buildings recently and there is a need to perform a comprehensive review on the research and development in carbon-neutral buildings. This article firstly introduces the evolution and definition of carbon neutrality, its relationship with buildings, and the definition of carbon-neutral buildings. Secondly, it presents studies on different types of carbon-neutral buildings and different methods on the calculation of carbon emissions. Finally, the practical application examples of carbon neutral buildings, related evaluation standards and government policies are analyzed and suggestions and recommendations for future research and development are provided.

Keywords

Carbon neutral building / Research and development / Calculation method / Standards and policies

References

[1] Adabre, M.A. , Chan, A.P.C. , Darko, A. , 2022. Interactive effects of institutional, economic, social and environmental barriers on sustainable housing in a developing country. Build. Environ. 207, 108487.

[2] Amoruso, F.M. , Schuetze, T. , 2022. Life cycle assessment and costing of carbon neutral hybrid-timber building renovation systems: three applications in the Republic of Korea. Build.Environ. 222, 109395.

[3] Amoruso, F.M. , Sonn, M.-H. , Schuetze, T. , 2022. Carbon-neutral building renovation potential with passive house-certified components: applications for an exemplary apartment building in the Republic of Korea. Build. Environ. 215, 108986.

[4] Andresen, I. , 2017. Towards zero energy and zero emission buildings—definitions, concepts, and strategies. Curr. Sustain./-Renew. Energy Rep. 4, 63- 71.

[5] ASHRAE , 2023. ANSI/ASHRAE Standard 228-2023: Standard Method of Evaluating Zero Net Energy and Zero Net Carbon Building Performance. ASHRAE, Atlanta, GA.

[6] Atanda, J.O. , Olukoya, O.A.P. , 2019. Green building standards: opportunities for Nigeria. J. Clean. Prod. 227, 366- 377.

[7] Athena Sustainable Materials Institute , 2024. User Manual and Transparency Document Impact Estimator for Buildings v.5.5.Athena Sustainable Materials Institute, Canada.

[8] Bahramara, S. , Moghaddam, M.P. , Haghifam, M.R. , 2016. Optimal planning of hybrid renewable energy systems using HOMER: a review. Renew. Sustain. Energy Rev. 62, 609- 620.

[9] Bai, C. , Zhu, Q. , Sarkis, J. , 2022. Supplier portfolio selection and order allocation under carbon neutrality: introducing a "cool"ing model. Comput. Ind. Eng. 170, 108335.

[10] Barahmand, Z. , Eikeland, M.S. , 2022. Life cycle assessment under uncertainty: a scoping review. World 3, 692- 717.

[11] Ben-Alon, L. , Loftness, V. , Harries, K.A. , Cochran Hameen, E. , 2021. Life cycle assessment (LCA) of natural vs conventional building assemblies. Renew. Sustain. Energy Rev. 144, 110951.

[12] Bilardo, M. , Fabrizio, E. , 2023. From zero energy to zero power buildings: a new framework to define high-energy performance and carbon-neutral buildings. Sustain. Energy Technol. Assess. 60, 103521.

[13] Birgisdottir, H. , Rasmussen, F.N. , 2019. Development of LCAbyg: a national life cycle assessment tool for buildings in Denmark. IOP Conf. Ser. Earth Environ. Sci. 290, 012039.

[14] Bottino-Leone, D. , Balest, J. , Cittati, V.M. , Pezzutto, S. , Fraboni, R. , Beltrami, F. , 2024. Review of existing tools for the assessment of European building stock energy demand for space heating and cooling. Sustainability 16, 2462.

[15] Cai, H. , Wang, X. , Kelly, J. , Wang, M. , 2021. Building life-cycle Analysis with the GREET Building Module: Methodology, Data, and Case Studies (No. ANL/ESD-21/13, 1823607, 171657).Argonne National Laboratory, Lemont, IL.

[16] Canada Green Building Council (CAGBC) , 2024. Zero Carbon Building Design Standard Version 4: Accelerating the Transition to Zero Carbon (No. ZCB-2024-04). Canada Green Building Council, Ottawa.

[17] Applegath, C. , Cohen, C. , Portuese, J.C. , 2020. Dialog designs mass timber net-zero carbon college building for Canada.

[18] Carruthers, H. , Ap, L. , Casavant, T. , Eng, P. , 2013. What is a "Carbon Neutral" building?.

[19] Carvajal, P.E. , Li, F.G.N. , Soria, R. , Cronin, J. , Anandarajah, G. , Mulugetta, Y. , 2019. Large hydropower, decarbonisation and climate change uncertainty: modelling power sector pathways for Ecuador. Energy Strategy Rev. 23, 86- 99.

[20] Çetin, S. , De Wolf, C. , Bocken, N. , 2021. Circular digital built environment: an emerging framework. Sustainability 13, 6348.

[21] Chance, T. , 2009. Towards sustainable residential communities; the beddington zero energy development (BedZED) and beyond. Environ. Urban. 21, 527- 544.

[22] Charan, T. , Mackey, C. , Irani, A. , Polly, B. , Ray, S. , Fleming, K. , El Kontar, R. , Moore, N. , Elgindy, T. , Cutler, D. , Roudsari, M.S. , Goldwasser, D. , 2021. Integration of open-source URBANopt and dragonfly energy modeling capabilities into practitioner workflows for district-scale planning and design. Energies 14, 5931.

[23] Chau, C.K. , Leung, T.M. , Ng, W.Y. , 2015. A review on life cycle assessment, life cycle energy assessment and life cycle carbon emissions assessment on buildings. Appl. Energy 143, 395- 413.

[24] Chen, B. , Bao, Y.Q. , Zhou, N. , 2022. Analysis of the effect of energy-saving renovation of an existing residential building in Beijing. Green Perform. 14, 44- 48.

[25] Chen, J. , Gong, Q. , Lu, L. , 2023a. Evaluation of passive envelope systems with radiative sky cooling and thermally insulated glazing materials for cooling. J. Clean. Prod. 398, 136607.

[26] Chen, J. , Lu, L. , Gong, Q. , 2023b. Techno-economic and environmental evaluation on radiative sky cooling-based novel passive envelope strategies to achieve building sustainability and carbon neutrality. Appl. Energy 349, 121679.

[27] Chen, L. , Huang, L. , Hua, J. , Chen, Z. , Wei, L. , Osman, A.I. , Fawzy, S. , Rooney, D.W. , Dong, L. , Yap, P.-S. , 2023. Green construction for low-carbon cities: a review. Environ. Chem.Lett. 21 (3), 1627- 1657.

[28] Chen, L. , Msigwa, G. , Yang, M. , Osman, A.I. , Fawzy, S. , Rooney, D.W. , Yap, P.-S. , 2022. Strategies to achieve a carbon neutral society: a review. Environ. Chem. Lett. 20, 2277- 2310.

[29] Chen, X. , Shuai, C. , Chen, Z. , Zhang, Y. , 2019. What are the root causes hindering the implementation of green roofs in urban China? Sci. Total Environ. 654, 742- 750.

[30] Chen, Y. , Liu, H. , Shi, L. , 2018. Operation strategy of public building: implications from trade-off between carbon emission and occupant satisfaction. J. Clean. Prod. 205, 629- 644.

[31] China Association for Engineering Construction Standardization , 2024. Assessment Standard for Carbon-Neutral Building: T/CECS 1555—2024. China Association for Engineering Construction Standardization, Beijing.

[32] Christensen & Co Architects , 2013. Green Lighthouse, Designed by Christensen & Co Architects. Copenhagen, Denmark.

[33] Ciardiello, A. , Rosso, F. , Dell'Olmo, J. , Ciancio, V. , Ferrero, M. , Salata, F. , 2020. Multi-objective approach to the optimization of shape and envelope in building energy design. Appl. Energy 280, 115984.

[34] Climate Active , 2024. Guideline: Upfront Carbon for Buildings. Australian Government — Climate Active, Canberra.

[35] Climate Active , 2020. Climate Active Carbon Neutral Standard for Buildings. Australian Government — Climate Active, Canberra.

[36] De Wolf, C. , Cordella, M. , Dodd, N. , Byers, B. , Donatello, S. , 2023. Whole life cycle environmental impact assessment of buildings: developing software tool and database support for the EU framework Level(s). Resour. Conserv. Recycl. 188, 106642.

[37] Delval, T. Jolibois, A. Carré S. , Aguinaga, S. , Mailhac, A. Brachet, A. Soula, J. Deom, S. , 2018. Building/City information model for simulation and data management. In: Karlshøj, J., Scherer, R. (Eds.), Ework and Ebusiness in Architecture, Engineering and Construction. CRC Press, Boca Raton, pp. 137-145.

[38] Dervishaj, A. , Gudmundsson, K. , 2024. From LCA to circular design: a comparative study of digital tools for the built environment. Resour. Conserv. Recycl. 200, 107291.

[39] Dixit, M.K. , 2017. Life cycle embodied energy analysis of residential buildings: a review of literature to investigate embodied energy parameters. Renew. Sustain. Energy Rev. 79, 390- 413.

[40] Elnabawi, M.H. , Hamza, N. , 2019. Investigating building information model (BIM) to building energy simulation (BES): interoperability and simulation results. IOP Conf. Ser. Earth Environ.Sci. 397, 12013.

[41] Fan, Y. , Fang, C. , 2023. GHG emissions and energy consumption of residential buildingsda systematic review and meta-analysis. Environ. Monit. Assess. 195, 885.

[42] Fang, K. , Tang, Y. , Zhang, Q. , Song, J. , Wen, Q. , Sun, H. , Ji, C. , Xu, A. , 2019. Will China peak its energy-related carbon emissions by 2030? Lessons from 30 Chinese provinces. Appl. Energy 255, 113852.

[43] Feng, C. , Lei, Y. , Fang, J. , Lu, B. , Li, X. , Xue, X. , 2022. Optimized radiative parameters of building roof surfaces for energy efficiency: case studies in China. J. Build. Eng. 61, 105289.

[44] Fenner, A.E. , Kibert, C.J. , Li, J. , Razkenari, M.A. , Hakim, H. , Lu, X. , Kouhirostami, M. , Sam, M. , 2020. Embodied, operation, and commuting emissions: a case study comparing the carbon hotspots of an educational building. J. Clean. Prod. 268, 122081.

[45] Ferrando, M. , Causone, F. , Hong, T. , Chen, Y. , 2020. Urban building energy modeling (UBEM) tools: a state-of-the-art review of bottom-up physics-based approaches. Sustain. Cities Soc. 62, 102408.

[46] Fonseca, J. , Thomas, D. , Mok, R. , Hsieh, S. , Sreepathi, B.K. , Happle, G. , Rogenhofer, L. , Shi, Z. , Niffeler, M. , Jack-Hawthorne, K. , Khayatian, F. , Romero, M.M. , Riegelbauer, E. , Bosova, A. , Luzpaz, A. , Wang, Y. , 2025. CityEnergyAnalyst v4.0.0-alpha.22. zenodo.records.15014939.

[47] Frapin, M. , Roux, C. , Assoumou, E. , Peuportier, B. , 2022. Modelling long-term and short-term temporal variation and uncertainty of electricity production in the life cycle assessment of buildings. Appl. Energy 307, 118141.

[48] Frischknecht, R. , Jungbluth, N. , Althaus, H.-J. , Dóka, G. , Dones, R. , Heck, T. , Hellweg, S. , Hischier, R. , Nemecek, T. , Rebitzer, G. , Spielmann, M. , 2004. Introduction to the Ecoinvent Database: Overview and Methodological Framework.

[49] Garriga, S.M. , Dabbagh, M. , Krarti, M. , 2020. Optimal carbonneutral retrofit of residential communities in Barcelona, Spain. Energy Build. 208, 109651.

[50] Giordano, R. , Serra, V. , Tortalla, E. , Valentini, V. , Aghemo, C. , 2015. Embodied energy and operational energy assessment in the framework of nearly zero energy building and building energy rating. Energy Proc. 78, 3204- 3209.

[51] Guo, C. , Zhang, X. , Zhao, L. , Wu, W. , Zhou, H. , Wang, Q. , 2024. Building a life cycle carbon emission estimation model based on an early design: 68 case studies from China. Sustainability 16, 744.

[52] Habert, G. , Röck, M. , Steininger, K. , Lupisek, A. , Birgisdottir, H. , Desing, H. , Chandrakumar, C. , Pittau, F. , Passer, A. , Rovers, R. , Slavkovic, K. , Hollberg, A. , Hoxha, E. , Jusselme, T. , Nault, E. , Allacker, K. , Lützkendorf, T. , 2020. Carbon budgets for buildings: harmonising temporal, spatial and sectoral dimensions. Buildings and Cities 1, 429- 452.

[53] Hu, S. , Zhang, Y. , Yang, Z. , Yan, D. , Jiang, Y. , 2022. Challenges and opportunities for carbon neutrality in China's building sectordmodelling and data. Build. Simul. 15, 1899- 1921.

[54] Huang, B. , Xing, K. , Pullen, S. , Liao, L. , 2020. Exploring carbon neutral potential in urban densification: a precinct perspective and scenario analysis. Sustainability 12, 4814.

[55] Huang, Z. , Zhou, H. , Miao, Z. , Tang, H. , Lin, B. , Zhuang, W. , 2024. Life-cycle carbon emissions (LCCE) of buildings: implications, calculations, and reductions. Engineering 35, 115- 139.

[56] Huo, T. , Cai, W. , Ren, H. , Feng, W. , Zhu, M. , Lang, N. , Gao, J. , 2019. China's building stock estimation and energy intensity analysis. J. Clean. Prod. 207, 801- 813.

[57] Huo, T. , Ma, Y. , Cai, W. , Liu, B. , Mu, L. , 2021a. Will the urbanization process influence the peak of carbon emissions in the building sector? A dynamic scenario simulation. Energy Build. 232, 110590.

[58] Huo, T. , Xu, L. , Feng, W. , Cai, W. , Liu, B. , 2021b. Dynamic scenario simulations of carbon emission peak in China's city-scale urban residential building sector through 2050. Energy Policy 159, 112612.

[59] Hussain, M. , Zheng, B. , Chi, H.-L. , Hsu, S.-C. , Chen, J.-H. , 2023. Automated and continuous BIM-based life cycle carbon assessment for infrastructure design projects. Resour. Conserv.Recycl. 190, 106848.

[60] Ibn-Mohammed, T. , Greenough, R. , Taylor, S. , Ozawa-Meida, L. , Acquaye, A. , 2013. Operational vs. embodied emissions in buildingsda review of current trends. Energy Build. 66, 232- 245.

[61] International Energy Agency (IEA) , 2021. Financing Clean Energy Transitions in Emerging and Developing Economies. International Energy Agency, Paris.

[62] International Organization for Standardization (ISO) , 2023. ISO 14068-1: 2023 Climate Change managementdTransition to Net zerodPart 1: Carbon Neutrality. ISO, Geneva.

[63] Jalaei, F. , Masoudi, R. , Guest, G. , 2022. A framework for specifying low-carbon construction materials in government procurement: a case study for concrete in a new building investment. J.Clean. Prod. 345, 131056.

[64] Jiménez-Pulido, C. , Jiménez-Rivero, A. , Garcı á-Navarro, J. , 2022. Improved sustainability certification systems to respond to building renovation challenges based on a literature review. J.Build. Eng. 45, 103575.

[65] Jing, R. , Zhou, Y. , Wu, J. , 2022. Electrification with flexibility towards local energy decarbonization. Adv. Appl. Energy 5, 100088.

[66] Johnston, D. , Siddall, M. , Ottinger, O. , Peper, S. , Feist, W. , 2020. Are the energy savings of the passive house standard reliable? A review of the as-built thermal and space heating performance of passive house dwellings from 1990 to 2018. Energy Effic 13, 1605- 1631.

[67] Kamazani, M.A. , Dixit, M.K. , 2023. Multi-objective optimization of embodied and operational energy and carbon emission of a building envelope. J. Clean. Prod. 428, 139510.

[68] Kavgic, M. , Mavrogianni, A. , Mumovic, D. , Summerfield, A. , Stevanovic, Z. , Djurovic-Petrovic, M. , 2010. A review of bottomup building stock models for energy consumption in the residential sector. Build. Environ. 45, 1683- 1697.

[69] Krarti, M. , Aldubyan, M. , 2021. Role of energy efficiency and distributed renewable energy in designing carbon neutral residential buildings and communities: case study of Saudi Arabia. Energy Build. 250, 111309.

[70] Langevin, J. , Harris, C.B. , Reyna, J.L. , 2019. Assessing the potential to reduce U.S. building CO₂ emissions 80% by 2050. Joule 3, 2403- 2424.

[71] Le, A. , Rodrigo, N. , Domingo, N. , Senaratne, S. , 2023. Policy mapping for net-zero-carbon buildings: insights from leading countries. Buildings 13, 2766.

[72] Lee, G. , Avelina, N. , Rim, D. , Chi, S. , Ahn, H. , 2023. Systematic review of carbon-neutral building technologies (CNBTs) by climate groups and building types. J. Build. Eng. 78, 107627.

[73] Lewis, M. , Huang, M. , Carlisle, S. , Simonen, K. , 2023. AIA-CLF Embodied Carbon Toolkit for Architects. Carbon Leadership Forum, Seattle.

[74] Li, H.-S. , Geng, Y.-C. , Shinwari, R. , Yangjie, W. , Rjoub, H. , 2021. Does renewable energy electricity and economic complexity index help to achieve carbon neutrality target of top exporting countries. J. Environ. Manage. 299, 113386.

[75] Li, Y. , Wang, Z. , Liang, W. , Yang, F. , Wu, G. , 2024. Green renovation of existing public buildings in China: a synergy mechanism of state-owned enterprises based on evolutionary game theory. J. Clean. Prod. 434, 140454.

[76] Li, Z. , Lin, B. , Zheng, S. , Liu, Y. , Wang, Z. , Dai, J. , 2020. A review of operational energy consumption calculation method for urban buildings. Build. Simul. 13, 739- 751.

[77] Liang, R. , Zheng, X. , Wang, P.-H. , Liang, J. , Hu, L. , 2023. Research progress of carbon-neutral design for buildings. Energies 16 (15), 5929.

[78] Lindman, Å.E. , Burman, S. , 2021. Skellefteå Cultural Centre, Designed by White Arkitekter, Skellefteå Sweden.

[79] Liu, K. , Tian, J. , Chen, J. , Wen, Y. , 2022. Low-carbon retrofitting path of existing public buildings: a comparative study based on green building rating systems. Energies 15, 8724.

[80] Liu, Z. , Yu, C. , Qian, Q.K. , Huang, R. , You, K. , Visscher, H. , Zhang, G. , 2023. Incentive initiatives on energy-efficient renovation of existing buildings towards carbon—neutral blueprints in China: advancements, challenges and prospects. Energy Build. 296, 113343.

[81] Lizana, J. , Wheeler, S. , Azizi, E. , Halloran, C. , Wheeler, J. , Wallom, D.C.H. , McCulloch, M. , 2024. Integrated postoccupancy evaluation and intervention that achieve realworld zero-carbon buildings. Energy Build. 303, 113766.

[82] Lomholt, I. , 2020. Energy Positive Powerhouse. Telemark. e-architect, Telemark, Norway.

[83] Lu, M. , Lai, J. , 2020. Review on carbon emissions of commercial buildings. Renew. Sustain. Energy Rev. 119, 109545.

[84] Luo, L. , Chen, Y. , 2020. Carbon emission energy management analysis of LCA-based fabricated building construction. Sustain.Comput.: Inf. Syst. 27, 100405.

[85] M, V. , 2020. Hotel Bauhofstrasse, Designed by VON M Architects.Ludwigsburg, Germany.

[86] Ma, H. , Du, N. , Yu, S. , Lu, W. , Zhang, Z. , Deng, N. , Li, C. , 2017. Analysis of typical public building energy consumption in northern China. Energy Build. 136, 139- 150.

[87] Ma, M. , Ma, X. , Cai, W. , Cai, W. , 2020. Low carbon roadmap of residential building sector in China: historical mitigation and prospective peak. Appl. Energy 273, 115247.

[88] Mahdiyar, A. , Tabatabaee, S. , Sadeghifam, A.N. , Mohandes, S.R. , Abdullah, A. , Meynagh, M.M. , 2016. Probabilistic private costbenefit analysis for green roof installation: a Monte Carlo simulation approach. Urban For. Urban Green. 20, 317- 327.

[89] Maia, I. , Müller, A. , Kranzl, L. , Hartner, M. , Forthuber, S. , 2018. Techno-economic analysis of individual building renovation roadmaps as an instrument to achieve national energy performance targets. In: International Building Physics Conference 2018 Proceedings.

[90] Marszal, A.J. , Heiselberg, P. , Bourrelle, J.S. , Musall, E. , Voss, K. , Sartori, I. , Napolitano, A. , 2011. Zero energy building e a review of definitions and calculation methodologies. Energy Build. 43, 971- 979.

[91] Mastrucci, A. , Marvuglia, A. , Benetto, E. , Leopold, U. , 2020. A spatio-temporal life cycle assessment framework for building renovation scenarios at the urban scale. Renew. Sustain. Energy Rev. 126, 109834.

[92] Mata, É. , Kalagasidis, A.S. , Johnsson, F. , 2013. A modelling strategy for energy, carbon, and cost assessments of building stocks. Energy Build. 56, 100- 108.

[93] Mauree, D. , Naboni, E. , Coccolo, S. , Perera, A.T.D. , Nik, V.M. , Scartezzini, J.-L. , 2019. A review of assessment methods for the urban environment and its energy sustainability to guarantee climate adaptation of future cities. Renew. Sustain. Energy Rev. 112, 733- 746.

[94] McManus, D. , 2012. Siemens Crystal: Urban Sustainability Centre.London. e-architect, London.

[95] MIT Sustainable Design Lab , 2022. Umidocs Documentation Release 3.0. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA.

[96] Moghaddasi, H. , Culp, C. , Vanegas, J. , Ehsani, M. , 2021. Net zero energy buildings: variations, clarifications, and requirements in response to the Paris agreement. Energies 14, 3760.

[97] Nwodo, M.N. , Anumba, C.J. , 2019. A review of life cycle assessment of buildings using a systematic approach. Build. Environ. 162, 106290.

[98] Ohene, E. , Chan, A.P.C. , Darko, A. , 2022. Review of global research advances towards net-zero emissions buildings. Energy Build. 266, 112142.

[99] Pan, W. , 2014. System boundaries of zero carbon buildings. Renew.Sustain. Energy Rev. 37, 424- 434.

[100] Pan, W. , Li, K. , 2016. Clusters and exemplars of buildings towards zero carbon. Build. Environ. 104, 92- 101.

[101] Panagiotidou, M. , Fuller, R.J. , 2013. Progress in ZEBs—a review of definitions, policies and construction activity. Energy Policy 62, 196- 206.

[102] Perwez, U. , Shono, K. , Yamaguchi, Y. , Shimoda, Y. , 2023. Multiscale UBEM-BIPV coupled approach for the assessment of carbon neutrality of commercial building stock. Energy Build. 291, 113086.

[103] Piccardo, C. , Dodoo, A. , Gustavsson, L. , 2020. Retrofitting a building to passive house level: a life cycle carbon balance. Energy Build. 223, 110135.

[104] Pulselli, R.M. , Marchi, M. , Neri, E. , Marchettini, N. , Bastianoni, S. , 2019. Carbon accounting framework for decarbonisation of European city neighbourhoods. J. Clean. Prod. 208, 850- 868.

[105] Qiu, Y. Zhou, X. , 2016. Benefits analysis of solar low-carbon public buildings in Hunan district. In: Proceedings of the 2016 International Conference on Civil, Structure and Environmental Engineering. Atlantis Press, Guangzhou, China, pp. 223-226.

[106] Rabani, M. , Madessa, H.B. , Ljungström, M. , Aamodt, L. , Løvvold, S. , Nord, N. , 2021. Life cycle analysis of GHG emissions from the building retrofitting: the case of a Norwegian office building. Build. Environ. 204, 108159.

[107] Ramesh, T. , Prakash, R. , Shukla, K.K. , 2010. Life cycle energy analysis of buildings: an overview. Energy Build. 42, 1592- 1600.

[108] Ren, X. , Duan, K. , Tao, L. , Shi, Y. , Yan, C. , 2022. Carbon prices forecasting in quantiles. Energy Econ. 108, 105862.

[109] Röck, M. , Sørensen, A. , Steinmann, J. , Lynge, K. , Horup, L.H. , Tozan, B. , Le Den, X. , Birgisdottir, H. , 2022. Towards Embodied Carbon Benchmarks for Buildings in Europe — #1 Facing the Data Challenge. zenodo.6120522.

[110] Ropo, M. , Mustonen, H. , Knuutila, M. , Luoranen, M. , Kosonen, A. , 2023. Considering embodied CO₂ emissions and carbon compensation cost in life cycle cost optimization of carbonneutral building energy systems. Environ. Impact Assess. Rev. 101, 107100.

[111] Ruta, M.F. , Pittau, F. , Masera, G. , 2024. Towards zero-carbon buildings: challenges and opportunities from reversing the material pyramid. Sustainability 16, 4454.

[112] Sacchi, R. , Terlouw, T. , Siala, K. , Dirnaichner, A. , Bauer, C. , Cox, B. , Mutel, C. , Daioglou, V. , Luderer, G. , 2022. PRospective EnvironMental impact asSEment (premise): a streamlined approach to producing databases for prospective life cycle assessment using integrated assessment models. Renew. Sustain. Energy Rev. 160, 112311.

[113] Sartori, I. , Napolitano, A. , Voss, K. , 2012. Net zero energy buildings: a consistent definition framework. Energy Build. 48, 220- 232.

[114] Satola, D. , Balouktsi, M. , Lützkendorf, T. , Wiberg, A.H. , Gustavsen, A. , 2021. How to define (net) zero greenhouse gas emissions buildings: the results of an international survey as part of IEA EBC annex 72. Build. Environ. 192, 107619.

[115] Satola, D. , Wiberg, A.H. , Singh, M. , Babu, S. , James, B. , Dixit, M. , Sharston, R. , Grynberg, Y. , Gustavsen, A. , 2022. Comparative review of international approaches to net-zero buildings: knowledge-sharing initiative to develop design strategies for greenhouse gas emissions reduction. Energy Sustain. Dev. 71, 291- 306.

[116] Shah, A. , Engler, N. , Krarti, M. , 2020. Feasibility assessment of a grid-connected carbon-neutral community in Midland, Texas. ASME J. Eng. Sustain. Build. Cities 1 (4), 041005.

[117] Shirinbakhsh, M. , Harvey, L.D.D. , 2021. Net-zero energy buildings: the influence of definition on greenhouse gas emissions. Energy Build. 247, 111118.

[118] Song, X. , Shen, M. , Lu, Y. , Shen, L. , Zhang, H. , 2021. How to effectively guide carbon reduction behavior of building owners under emission trading scheme? An evolutionary game-based study. Environ. Impact Assess. Rev. 90, 106624.

[119] Stephan, A. , Stephan, L. , 2020. Achieving net zero life cycle primary energy and greenhouse gas emissions apartment buildings in a Mediterranean climate. Appl. Energy 280, 115932.

[120] Steubing, B. , de Koning, A. , Merciai, S. , Tukker, A. , 2022. How do carbon footprints from LCA and EEIOA databases compare? A comparison of ecoinvent and EXIOBASE. J. Ind. Ecol. 26, 1406- 1422.

[121] Tirelli, D. , Besana, D. , 2023. Moving toward net zero carbon buildings to face global warming: a narrative review. Buildings 13 (3), 684.

[122] Tokbolat, S. , Karaca, F. , Durdyev, S. , Calay, R.K. , 2020. Construction professionals' perspectives on drivers and barriers of sustainable construction. Environ. Dev. Sustain. 22, 4361- 4378.

[123] Tokede, O. , Rouwette, R. , 2024. Problematic consequences of the inclusion of capital goods inventory data in environmental product declarations. Int. J. Life Cycle Assess. 29, 1- 24.

[124] Too, J. , Ejohwomu, O.A. , Hui, F.K.P. , Duffield, C. , Bukoye, O.T. , Edwards, D.J. , 2022. Framework for standardising carbon neutrality in building projects. J. Clean. Prod. 373, 133858.

[125] Torcellini, P. , Pless, S. , Leach, M. , 2015. A pathway for net-zero energy buildings: creating a case for zero cost increase. Build.Res. Inf. 43, 25- 33.

[126] Tsinghua University School of Environment Carbon Neutrality Research Team , 2023. 2023 Global Carbon Neutrality Annual Progress Report. Tsinghua University School of Environment, Beijing.

[127] UK Green Building Council, Advancing Net Zero , 2019. Net-ZeroCarbon-Buildingsda Framework Definition. UK Green Building Council, London.

[128] UNFCCC Conference of the Parties (COP) , 2016. Report of the conference of the parties on its twenty-first session, held in Paris from 30 November to 13 December 2015. Part one: proceedings. Session and Meeting Reports No. FCCC/CP/2015/10), Paris Climate Change Conference.

[129] United Nations Environment Programme , 2024. 2023 Global Status Report for Buildings and Construction: Beyond Foundations — Mainstreaming Sustainable Solutions to Cut Emissions from the Buildings Sector. United Nations Environment Programme, Nairobi.

[130] U.S. Department of Energy , 2024. EnergyPlus Essentials (No. Build: 94A887817B). U.S. Department of Energy, Washington, D.C.

[131] U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) , 2020. 2018 Commercial Buildings Energy Consumption Survey (CBECS): Building Characteristics (No. CBECS-2018-01). U.S. Energy Information Administration, Washington, D.C.

[132] U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) , 2020. LEED Zero Program Guide: Achieving Net Zero Carbon, Energy, Water and Waste(Technical Manual No. Version 2.0). U.S. Green Building Council, Washington, D.C.

[133] Vadiee, A. , Dodoo, A. , Jalilzadehazhari, E. , 2019. Heat supply comparison in a single-family house with radiator and floor heating systems. Buildings 10, 5.

[134] Van Eldik, M.A. , Vahdatikhaki, F. , dos Santos, J.M.O. , Visser, M. , Doree, A. , 2020. BIM-based environmental impact assessment for infrastructure design projects. Autom. Constr. 120, 103379.

[135] Wang, Q. , Laurenti, R. , Holmberg, S. , 2015. A novel hybrid methodology to evaluate sustainable retrofitting in existing Swedish residential buildings. Sustain. Cities Soc. 16, 24- 38.

[136] Wang, R. , Lu, S. , Feng, W. , 2020. A novel improved model for building energy consumption prediction based on model integration. Appl. Energy 262, 114561.

[137] Wang, X. , Pan, Y. , Liang, Y. , Zeng, F. , Fu, L. , Li, J. , Sun, T. , 2023. A review of carbon footprint reduction of green building technologies in China. Prog. Energy 5 (3), 032002.

[138] Wells, L. , Rismanchi, B. , Aye, L. , 2018. A review of net zero energy buildings with reflections on the Australian context. Energy Build. 158, 616- 628.

[139] Xin, L. , Li, S. , Rene, E.R. , Lun, X. , Zhang, P. , Ma, W. , 2023. Prediction of carbon emissions peak and carbon neutrality based on life cycle CO₂ emissions in megacity building sector: dynamic scenario simulations of Beijing. Environ. Res. 238, 117160.

[140] Xu, S. , Fang, L. , Govindan, K. , 2022. Energy performance contracting in a supply chain with financially asymmetric manufacturers under carbon tax regulation for climate change mitigation. Omega 106, 102535.

[141] Xu, T.-H. , Hu, S. , Yang, Z.-Y. , Jiang, Y. , 2023. Carbon emission comparisons of the building sector between China and Sweden and its implication for achieving carbon neutrality in the building sector of China. Adv. Clim. Change Res. 19, 305- 319.

[142] Xue, Q. , Wang, Z. , Chen, Q. , 2022. Multi-objective optimization of building design for life cycle cost and CO₂ emissions: a case study of a low-energy residential building in a severe cold climate. Build. Simul. 15, 83- 98.

[143] Yan, D. , Xia, J. , Tang, W. , Song, F. , Zhang, X. , Jiang, Y. , 2008. DeST — an integrated building simulation toolkit part I: fundamentals. Build. Simul. 1, 95- 110.

[144] Yang, J. , Deng, Z. , Guo, S. , Chen, Y. , 2023. Development of bottom-up model to estimate dynamic carbon emission for cityscale buildings. Appl. Energy 331, 120410.

[145] Yu, F.W. , Ho, W.T. , 2021. Tactics for carbon neutral office buildings in Hong Kong. J. Clean. Prod. 326, 129369.

[146] Zhang, H. , Li, P. , Zhang, Z. , Li, W. , Chen, J. , Song, X. , Shibasaki, R. , Yan, J. , 2022. Epidemic versus economic performances of the COVID-19 lockdown: a big data driven analysis. Cities 120, 103502.

[147] Zhang, H. , Yan, J. , Yu, Q. , Obersteiner, M. , Li, W. , Chen, J. , Zhang, Q. , Jiang, M. , Wallin, F. , Song, X. , Wu, J. , Wang, X. , Shibasaki, R. , 2021. 1.6 million transactions replicate distributed PV market slowdown by COVID-19 lockdown. Appl. Energy 283, 116341.

[148] Zhang, S. , Wang, K. , Xu, W. , Iyer-Raniga, U. , Athienitis, A. , Ge, H. , Cho, D.W. , Feng, W. , Okumiya, M. , Yoon, G. , Mazria, E. , Lyu, Y. , 2021. Policy recommendations for the zero energy building promotion towards carbon neutral in Asia-Pacific Region. Energy Policy 159, 112661.

[149] Zhang, S. , Xiang, X. , Ma, Z. , Ma, M. , Zou, C. , 2021. Carbon neutral roadmap of commercial building operations by mid-century: lessons from China. Buildings 11, 510.

[150] Zhang, X. , Liu, K. , Zhang, Z. , 2020. Life cycle carbon emissions of two residential buildings in China: comparison and uncertainty analysis of different assessment methods. J. Clean. Prod. 266, 122037.

[151] Zhang, X. , Wang, F. , 2015. Life-cycle assessment and control measures for carbon emissions of typical buildings in China. Build. Environ. 86, 89- 97.

[152] Zhang, Y. , He, M. , Wang, L. , Yan, J. , Ma, B. , Zhu, X. , Ok, Y.S. , Mechtcherine, V. , Tsang, D.C.W. , 2022. Biochar as construction materials for achieving carbon neutrality. Biochar 4, 59.

[153] Zhou, N. , Fridley, D. , Khanna, N.Z. , Ke, J. , McNeil, M. , Levine, M. , 2013. China's energy and emissions outlook to 2050: perspectives from bottom-up energy end-use model. Energy Policy 53, 51- 62.

RIGHTS & PERMISSIONS

The Authors. Publishing services by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of KeAi Communications Co. Ltd.