Youth and Family Center achieves certification from Canada Green Building Council®

GLACE BAY, N.S. – The New Dawn Youth and Family Centre has achieved the Zero Carbon Building – Design Standard™ (ZCB-Design) certification under the Canada Green Building Council’s (CAGBC) Zero Carbon Building program, marking a major milestone for both the organization and the community of Glace Bay.

“Over the last few years, New Dawn has made a concerted effort to transition its buildings — new and repurposed — to more efficient and sustainable sources of energy and ways of operating. This has been our first opportunity to look at a zero-carbon design, meaning that we get to minimize our impact on the environment right from the beginning,” said New Dawn’s Vice-President of Properties and Development, Alyce MacLean.

This certification places the New Dawn Youth and Family Centre among a select group of innovative projects across Canada designed to significantly reduce carbon emissions — one of the most critical factors in addressing climate change. By meeting CAGBC’s rigorous national standards, the development’s design demonstrates excellence in both energy performance and carbon reduction, from the materials used in construction to how the building will operate for decades to come.

Designed to achieve net-zero carbon emissions, the Centre will rely on high-efficiency systems and modern, non-combustion-based heating technologies, eliminating the need for onsite fossil fuels. Any remaining emissions will be offset, ensuring the building operates with a minimal environmental footprint while maintaining exceptional performance and keeping operating costs as low as possible.

“The New Dawn Youth and Family Centre will be a highly energy efficient net-zero-ready building, and we couldn’t be more grateful for the opportunity to bring this kind of thinking and sustainability to a building in the heart of Glace Bay,” MacLean said.

The 25,000-square-foot Youth and Family Centre, scheduled to open early next year, will serve as a vibrant space where families, children, youth, seniors, and community organizations can participate in a wide range of programs and activities. It will be home to Cape Breton’s first indoor skatepark, a commercial community kitchen, indoor and outdoor recreation spaces, and a licensed daycare centre — accessible/barrier-free spaces designed to support connection, opportunity, and belonging.

This kind of investment is deeply significant in a community that has faced decades of economic decline, population loss, and rising social challenges. More than just a building, the New Dawn Youth and Family Centre represents a bold investment in the future, creating a welcoming, inclusive, environmentally responsible multi-purpose space that strengthens community well-being while supporting long-term resilience.

“Projects like the New Dawn Youth and Family Centre show what’s possible when climate leadership and resilience are built into community infrastructure,” said Mark Hutchinson, Senior Vice President, Green Building Programs and Innovation at CAGBC. “ To achieve ZCB-Design certification, the project team prioritized carbon reduction from the earliest stages of design — demonstrating how high-performance, low carbon buildings can also advance affordability, long-term performance, and community well-being.”

For New Dawn, the ZCB-Design certification builds on its broader commitment to becoming a net-zero organization and advancing practical, community-led climate solutions, including its solar garden at Pine Tree Park — Canada’s first subscription-based community solar garden. With approximately 1,800 solar panels generating 555 kilowatts of clean energy, the project has helped transform Pine Tree Park into one of Nova Scotia’s first net-zero energy communities, demonstrating how locally owned renewable energy can reduce emissions while keeping benefits within the community.

“In our advocacy for affordable utilities, increases in building efficiency and the transition to renewables must benefit everyone — in their homes and in the spaces where they build community. Our work and our hope for the Island is three-fold: efficient and well-designed buildings, an increase in renewable energy production, and the democratization of energy ownership. These three elements together represent true sustainability,” said Erika Shea, New Dawn President and CEO.

Across Canada, only a limited number of buildings have achieved ZBC-Design certification — 156 by the end of 2025, with 462 buildings registered for the program — placing the New Dawn Youth and Family Centre among a leading group of projects setting a new national standard for low-carbon development. In the Atlantic provinces, 23 developments have received ZCB certification. For Glace Bay, this means the Youth and Family Centre is not only a vital community space, but also part of a growing movement demonstrating how climate action, energy-efficiency, and community well-being can be advanced together.

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ABOUT NEW DAWN
New Dawn is Canada’s oldest Community Development Corporation. Since 1976, we’ve been working to create a more just, healthy, and self-determined community by responding to local needs and driving long-term, systems-level change.

Today, New Dawn continues to focus on self-reliance, resilience, and community-led transformation. Every day, we engage thousands of community members and employ over 150 Cape Bretoners through programs and services that are practical, creative, and grounded in care. Our work spans health and social care, housing, the arts, youth and family services, immigration, and community development. Some of these services generate revenue, which we reinvest into our organization — fueling sustainability and deepening community impact.

ABOUT THE CANADA GREEN BUILDING COUNCIL’S ZERO CARBON BUILDING PROGRAM
The Canada Green Building Council (CAGBC) provides solutions and services the building sector needs to construct and manage buildings that are easier on resources, healthier for people, resilient and cost- ffective. We work with the sector to influence standards, develop best practices, and educate the market on the benefits of green buildings. For more information visit cagbc.org.

The Zero Carbon Building (ZCB) program is a made-in-Canada certification framework that places carbon reduction at the centre of building performance. The program sets rigorous, science-based requirements for reducing both operational and embodied carbon, helping projects design and deliver buildings that align with Canada’s transition to a low-carbon economy.

Through certification programs like ZCB, along with research, education, and advocacy, CAGBC works to transform the built environment, supporting the development of buildings and communities that are more sustainable, resilient, and future-ready.