NORR, a global architecture and engineering firm with 750 professionals across 12 market sectors, announces its collaboration with Qflow, a leading construction data capture and analysis tool focused on real-time tracking of materials, waste, and carbon data. The Toronto-based workplace project is pursuing the Living Future Institute’s Zero Carbon Certification, demonstrating NORR’s commitment to data-driven sustainability strategies.
The collaboration addresses a critical challenge in sustainable construction: the gap between design-phase carbon assumptions and as-built reality. While traditional lifecycle assessment (LCA) tools provide essential design-phase carbon estimates, Qflow complements these tools by capturing comprehensive, real-time data on materials arriving on site. This approach delivers more detailed information that is easier to collect, providing accurate as-built carbon tracking essential for rigorous certifications.
Bridging design intent and construction reality
Real-time visibility will enable NORR’s sustainability team to identify supply chain risks, verify Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs), and make informed decisions about material substitutions during construction rather than relying solely on design-phase estimates.
Enabling faster, carbon-informed decisions
NORR identified three key benefits that Qflow’s platform will deliver for the firm’s sustainability-focused projects:
- Reducing embodied carbon through accurate tracking and identification of reduction opportunities
- Providing fast access to verified data for material selection and environmentally friendlier alternatives
- Creating an auditable trail of as-built carbon data that meets the stringent requirements of zero carbon certification bodies
A foundation for future collaboration
Beyond the Toronto pilot project, NORR plans to leverage this partnership as a framework for future sustainability-focused projects. As the firm recognises that construction industry standards are evolving toward requiring as-built carbon data rather than design-phase estimates, this partnership places NORR at the forefront of accurate carbon accounting practices.
The collaboration also supports NORR’s broader ethos of integrated thinking and inspired design, providing the data infrastructure needed to educate clients on sustainable design value propositions and demonstrate the long-term return on investment of high-performance buildings.
