Minergie Net Zero: From a climate goal to a measurable planning task

With the launch of the Minergie Net Zero certification, Minergie has created a new frame of reference for climate-neutral construction in Switzerland. For the first time, net zero in building construction is anchored as a clearly defined standard with verifiable criteria. What was previously often formulated as a strategic goal thus becomes a concretely measurable requirement over the entire life cycle of a building.

The fact that the first project pursuing this label is being analyzed and optimized with vyzn makes us proud. This is exactly the kind of pioneering work we strive for.

What's behind the standard?

Minergie Net Zero goes considerably further than previous efficiency standards. The standard assesses not only energy consumption during operation, but the complete greenhouse gas balance over the entire life cycle of a building. That is a decisive paradigm shift.

The standard is based on a systematic triad:

Avoid: Reduction of greenhouse gas emissions from construction and operation. This includes in particular embodied energy from building materials as well as operational emissions from heating, cooling and electricity.

Store: Targeted use of materials with carbon storage potential. Building materials such as wood can actively contribute to improving the overall balance.

Offset: Compensation of remaining residual emissions through recognized negative emission technologies, such as Carbon Dioxide Removal.

This triad makes it clear: net zero is not an energy label. It is a holistic climate balance.

What changes for planning

With this step, the requirements for the decision-making basis in early project phases rise considerably. Embodied energy, operational emissions and stored carbon must be recorded, balanced and weighed against one another simultaneously. This cannot be achieved with isolated individual calculations.

For planning teams, this specifically means:

Variant decisions require a common data basis across all three balance metrics.

Material decisions must be made early, as they significantly influence the overall balance.

The proof must be traceable and verifiable over the entire life cycle.

For building owners, this means above all one thing: investment decisions require a reliable, comparable data basis. Gut feeling is no longer enough.

A pioneering project in practice

The first project pursuing Minergie Net Zero certification is being planned by Kämpfen für Architektur AG. vyzn enables the planning team to calculate life cycle assessments directly from the digital building model and to carry out variant comparisons on the basis of reliable metrics.

This makes it possible to evaluate planning alternatives not only faster but also more soundly: What does switching from a concrete core to a wooden construction achieve? How does a different insulation thickness affect the overall balance? Answers that used to take weeks now emerge directly from the model.

We are very much looking forward to this collaboration with Kämpfen für Architektur AG.

Conclusion

With Minergie Net Zero, climate-neutral construction in Switzerland becomes more binding and more measurable. Net zero thus becomes less a political buzzword than a concrete planning task with clear requirements and quantifiable target values.

The decisive lever lies in the early planning phase: anyone who only calculates emissions at the end can hardly optimize anymore. Anyone who integrates them into the model from the outset has the necessary room to maneuver for well-founded decisions.

vyzn creates exactly this room to maneuver.