Hanyang University ERICA (President Lee Ki-jeong) announced on January 24th that it has become the first educational institution in Korea to obtain Korea's comprehensive carbon-neutral performance evaluation system, "Zero Carbon Building Certification (ZCB Certification) in Existing Buildings and Remodeled Buildings categories."

The Zero Carbon Building Certification (ZCB Certification) is a certification system that quantitatively evaluates carbon reduction measures, such as reduction, absorption, capture, and offsetting, to minimize carbon emissions over the entire lifecycle of a building. The certification applies to buildings, stores, and construction sites, with buildings further categorized into new constructions, existing buildings, and remodeled buildings for evaluation.

The ZCB Certification is a certification system accredited by an international greenhouse gas verification body in compliance with ISO 14064-2:2018 and ISO 14067-2019. Key operating bodies include the Korea Institute of Building Construction, Korean Recycled Construction Resources Institute, Korea Institute for Structural Maintenance and Inspection, and Sustainable Smart City Research Center, whereas certification bodies include Korea Conformity Laboratories (KCL), Korea Testing Certification Institute (KTC), Korea institute of Green Climate Technology (KGCT), KIEL Institute, Korea Sustainable Architectural Technology Association (KOSATA), and Zero Carbon smart Building Center.

The buildings at Hanyang University ERICA that received the certification include a total of four buildings, which are the expanded Administration Building (remodeled building), the Communication and Social Sciences Hall and the Residential Hall (existing buildings), and the Campus Innovation Park office facility (preliminary certification, new construction).

In particular, the Communication and Social Sciences Hall was recognized for its carbon reductions efforts through carbon offsets it acquired by generating electricity that it uses through solar power generation equipment and exporting the surplus to Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO), and the building achieved a Zero Carbon Building Index (ZCBI) of approximately 15%. Moreover, the expanded Administration Building earned recognition for reducing carbon emissions at the material production stage by using low-carbon concrete certified as a low-carbon product during its remodeling process.

"This certification marks an important step toward achieving sustainable carbon neutrality," said Baek Dong-hyun, Executive Vice President for ERICA. "We will achieve carbon neutrality across the entire campus by continuing to improve the efficiency of existing buildings and actively introducing eco-friendly technologies and materials in new constructions and remodeling projects."

"This achievement demonstrates Hanyang University ERICA's concrete commitment to carbon neutrality and sustainability," said Tae Sung-ho, Director of the Zero Carbon smart Building Center (ZCB Center). "I hope this serves as an opportunity to lay a foundation for establishing a carbon-neutral campus in the future."