The new preservation centre will be the first "net-zero carbon" facility dedicated to archival preservation in the Americas, and the first federal building constructed to the requirements of Canada's Greening Government Strategy. The main features of a net-zero carbon building are:

• minimal carbon emissions from energy consumption, achieved through building design and efficiency measures;
• energy needs met through carbon-free fuel sources; and
• minimal embodied carbon in building materials.

It will also be the world's largest preservation facility equipped with a high-tech automated archive storage and retrieval system. This means that our precious national collections will be kept under optimal preservation conditions.