By 2030, RBC has projected that Canada will need to build 5.8 million new houses, adding up to 18 million tonnes of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to the nation’s annual carbon footprint and require over $40B of capital investment each year. To meet this demand and reduce its impact on our climate, it is crucial to support new innovations in sustainable building technology.
When looking at a building’s environmental impact, emissions are often discussed in the context of embodied carbon, the emissions resulting from the production and use of the materials used in construction, and operational carbon, the emissions resulting from the building’s use throughout its lifetime. While retrofits can help to reduce operational carbon, embodied carbon is locked in during a building’s construction phase, must be addressed with smart design choices.
Isobloc, a Quebec company founded in 1985, has long been at the forefront of building material innovation. Its insulated masonry blocs have a unique design incorporating a polystyrene core encapsulated by architectural concrete layers. This improves the energy efficiency and environmental performance of new construction.
The design of Isobloc products impacts both the embodied and operational carbon of a building through reducing the overall amount of concrete used, along with its associated emissions, and improving a building’s capacity for temperature regulation with high thermal storage capacity and insulating properties.
In 2025, Isobloc teamed up with CarbiCrete, a leader in Canadian concrete decarbonization, to produce a line of products labeled Isobloc ZÉRO. CabiCrete’s technology produces concrete products without cement. Though cement makes up just 10-15% of a concrete mix, it is responsible for over 90% of concrete’s significant carbon footprint. CarbiCrete replaces 100% of cement with steel slag, a byproduct of the steelmaking industry, and cures its products using carbon dioxide, reducing emissions and trapping CO2 permanently within the concrete.
Through combining CarbiCrete’s EPD-verified reductions in embodied carbon with Isobloc’s innovative insulated masonry design, Isobloc ZÉRO is a clear choice for architects, designers, engineers, and contractors looking to build with higher performance and a lower carbon footprint. Isobloc ZÉRO is available now through Isobloc.
