New Dawn Youth and Family Centre earns zero carbon building designation
“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.”
Currently under construction in Glace Bay, the New Dawn Youth and Family Centre has joined a select group of innovative projects across Canada designed to significantly reduce carbon emissions.
The 25,000-square-foot facility, at the corner of Reserve Street and Official Row, has earned Zero Carbon Building – Design Standard certification under the Canada Green Building Council’s Zero Carbon Building (ZCB) program.
When the New Dawn Youth and Family Centre does officially open its doors — scheduled for early next year, according to a news release from the non-profit community development organization — it will rely on high-efficiency systems and modern, non-combustion-based heating technologies to achieve net-zero carbon emissions, 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 release said.
“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,” Alyce MacLean, vice-president of properties and development for the Sydney-based organization, said in a statement.
“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.”
THIRD-LARGEST EMITTING SECTOR
As Natural Resources Canada explains, buildings account for 18 per cent of Canada’s emissions, when including electricity-related emissions, and are the third-largest emitting sector after the oil and gas sector and the transportation sector.
“Almost all buildings’ operating emissions (greater than 96 per cent) come from space and water heating from the use of equipment that runs on fossil fuels, such as natural gas furnaces and boilers, while further emissions are embodied in construction materials used in buildings, such as concrete, steel, aluminum and wood,” the federal department says on its official website.
The Ottawa-based Canada Green Building Council defines a zero-carbon building as highly energy-efficient and can minimise greenhouse gas emissions from building materials and operations. Until all emissions can be eliminated, high-quality carbon offsets can be used as a counterbalance, the council notes on its official website.
“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.
PRIORITIZED CARBON REDUCTION
Across Canada, only a limited number of buildings have achieved Zero Carbon Building-Design certification — 156 by the end of 2025, with 462 buildings registered for the program. In the Atlantic provinces, 23 developments have received ZCB certification, New Dawn’s news release said.
“Projects like the New Dawn Youth and Family Centre show what’s possible when climate leadership and resilience are built into community infrastructure,” Mark Hutchinson, senior vice-president of green building programs and innovation at the Canada Green Building Council, said in a statement.
“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.”
VIBRANT SPACE
Once open, the Glace Bay centre will serve as a vibrant space “where families, children, youth, seniors and community organizations can participate in a wide range of programs and activities,” the release said.
“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.”
