Center for Net Zero Education, Exchange & Transformation
Building the knowledge ecosystem for the net-zero transition — professional development, accreditation, and institutional capacity across the built environment.
The Challenge
The world has building energy targets but lacks the trained professionals to deliver them.
The Code Gap
Two-thirds of countries lack mandatory building energy codes.1 The deficit is sharpest in sub-Saharan Africa, Southeast Asia, and parts of the Middle East — the regions where construction is growing fastest. Without codes, buildings lock in decades of avoidable emissions.
The Workforce Gap
Even where codes exist, the skilled workforce to implement them is thin.3 India has a national building code but limited state-level capacity to enforce it.6 Sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East face acute shortages of trained building-energy professionals.5 Universities in many emerging economies do not yet offer the tertiary programmes needed to produce specialists at scale.4
Our Approach
C-NEXT bridges the gap between policy ambition and on-the-ground practice. It delivers professional development programmes, accreditation pathways, and continuing education for practitioners in architecture, engineering, construction, and policy — from India to sub-Saharan Africa, Southeast Asia, and the Middle East.2
The Centre partners with universities to embed net-zero content into curricula and works with government bodies to design capacity-building programmes around specific institutional needs. Knowledge reaches professionals through online self-paced learning, live webinars, conferences, site visits, and structured training — from New Delhi to Nairobi to Jakarta to Riyadh.
Key Programs
Training, certification, and academic partnerships to build the net-zero workforce.
ECBC Training
Structured training programmes on India's Energy Conservation Building Code for architects, engineers, and municipal officials — with curriculum models designed for adaptation across sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia.
NZEB Certification
Professional certification pathways for net-zero energy building design, construction, and operation — equipping practitioners from New Delhi to Nairobi to Riyadh with globally recognised credentials.
Academic Partners
Memoranda of understanding with Nalanda University and Maharashtra State Climate Action Cell to co-develop and embed net-zero building content into university curricula and government training programmes.
Academic Partners
Nalanda University
Maharashtra State Climate Action Cell
Join the C-NEXT Network
Professionals, institutions, and organisations committed to the net-zero transition — we would like to hear from you.
Sources & References
- 1.UNEP, 'Global Status Report for Buildings and Construction,' 2024. Roughly two-thirds of countries lack mandatory building energy codes, with the gap most acute in sub-Saharan Africa, Southeast Asia, and parts of the Middle East.
- 2.IEA, 'Net Zero by 2050: A Roadmap for the Global Energy Sector,' 2021. Buildings must reach net-zero emissions by mid-century, requiring a massive expansion of the skilled workforce across all regions.
- 3.UNDP, 'Human Development Report,' 2023. Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia face acute shortages of trained building-energy professionals, limiting the implementation of even those codes that exist on paper.
- 4.UNESCO, 'Engineering for Sustainable Development,' 2021. Many emerging economies lack the tertiary-level programmes needed to produce building-energy specialists at scale, creating a structural workforce bottleneck.
- 5.World Bank, 'Skills for a Changing Climate,' 2022. The Middle East and North Africa region requires targeted upskilling in building energy efficiency to meet its rapid urbanisation and cooling-demand growth.
- 6.BEE (Bureau of Energy Efficiency), Government of India, 'ECBC Implementation Status,' 2023. India's Energy Conservation Building Code provides a scalable framework for commercial building energy performance, with training programmes now expanding to reach state-level implementers.