The Level Specification for Zero-carbon Digital Buildings was recently released by the Guangzhou Association of Building Economy Promotion. It will provide clear standards for the construction and operation of zero-carbon digital buildings.

The specification categorizes zero-carbon digital buildings into five-star, four-star, and three-star categories based on three standards: carbon emission reduction and energy savings, intelligence, and modern real estate management.

In recent years, the Tianhe Central Business District (CBD) has been promoting the sustainable development of buildings. It launched the sustainable development indexes in 2020, carrying out regular evaluations of buildings in the CBD.

A building in the Tianhe CBD. [Photo/WeChat account: tianhefabu]

The Guangzhou International Finance Center (IFC), a building in the Tianhe CBD, utilizes South China's first IAQ management system, which includes the modification of an air monitoring system and the construction of an air circulation system.

The center has also taken a number of steps to safeguard the environment and sort rubbish, including establishing the ISO50001 energy management system. Its overall electricity use in 2021 was at 26.1 million kilowatt-hours (kWh), down 2.95 million kWh from 2015.

It also has a condensation water recovery system that can recover over 8,500 cubic meters of condensated water per year.

Yuexiu Financial Tower has been working to reduce carbon emissions and save energy, including providing more natural light in parking lots, installing solar water heaters, and constructing more energy-efficient buildings.

It also has underground rainwater collection tanks with a total capacity of 160 cubic meters. The rainwater is primarily utilized to flush toilets on the 11th and lower floors, to wash garage floors, and to water plants.