About the Project
EDGE Coolsingel is set to become the largest Net Zero Carbon building in Rotterdam: a mixed-use development of 24,063 m² in the heart of the city centre, combining workspaces, retail and social spaces. Designed as a “living room” for the city, the building brings together advanced technology, biobased materials and green terraces to support health, biodiversity and energy-efficient performance, with the aim of zero operational emissions.
The carbon certification focuses on the biobased materials used throughout the building: Cross Laminated Timber (CLT), spruce, OSB, particleboard, multilayer panels, softwood structural plywood and fermacell® gypsum fibre board. Together these materials store 1,588 tonnes of CO₂ for 35 to 100 years, depending on the product, within a building designed for a service life of 67 years. All timber comes from FSC/PEFC-certified sources.
The project performs well above legal requirements across the board. It meets BREEAM-NL Excellent (New Construction 2020), targets an energy use below 70 kWh/m² per year in line with the DGBC Paris Proof standard, and has a low embodied carbon footprint. Construction started in September 2024, with completion planned for September 2026.
About the Remover
EDGE Coolsingel is developed by Edge (EDGE Development 8 B.V.), which acts as both the client and owner of the building. As Edge’s first Net Zero Carbon project in the Netherlands, it is a flagship for the company’s Decarbonisation Strategy: minimising embodied and operational emissions during design and construction, and offsetting any remaining emissions with high-quality carbon removal credits.
The carbon removal credits associated with the project are submitted and managed by Edge, ensuring direct accountability for the long-term carbon storage in the building. No subsidies apply to the stored carbon, and the material suppliers hold no claim on it, preserving the additionality and integrity of the certification.
For Edge, the certified carbon storage in EDGE Coolsingel is a key part of reaching Net Zero Carbon in practice, demonstrating that large-scale, high-performance office buildings in city centres can actively contribute to long-term carbon removal.