Why retrofitting beats rebuilding for a low-carbon home

Every new building carries a big up-front carbon cost — the concrete, steel and transport it takes to put it up, spent before anyone flips a light switch. Canada already has some 20 million buildings standing. The fastest way to cut our building emissions isn't to replace them; it's to make the ones we have work better.

Working with the building you own

A Solar Passive Habitat wraps an existing home in a glazed arch that harvests winter sun and shades summer heat — no demolition, no new foundation, no starting over. You keep the embodied carbon you've already paid for and add a low-carbon layer on top.

It's a smaller, cheaper, greener move than a rebuild — and one almost any home can make.