The purpose of this research is to analyze the significance of the ZeroCO2 certification within Sweden's construction and real estate sectors. It examines the motivations, challenges, and barriers associated with adopting and utilizing this certification. Furthermore, it assesses strategies that could boost the usage of the certification and evaluates how such an increase could impact Sweden's climate objectives. 

This study employs a blend of qualitative and quantitative research methods. For qualitative insights, semi-structured interviews were conducted with property owners who have firsthand experience with the ZeroCO2-certification. On the quantitative side, two surveys were administered. The first survey is designed to identify the obstacles that deter property owners from obtaining ZeroCO2 certification for their buildings. The second survey assesses the effectiveness of proposed strategies to encourage property owners to embrace this certification. 

The results showed that there were several motivations behind why property owners choose to ZeroCO2-certify. Some of these include that the certification helps companies achieve internal goals, gain external validation, and drive the industry forward. During the process, companies also encountered problems, such as the difficulty in finding suitable materials with EPDs, the challenge of having to work in a new way, and economic concerns. 

Companies that have not pursued ZeroCO2-certification also highlighted several barriers. These barriers include cost-related issues, lack of internal expertise, lack of information, low demand, comparison with other certifications, too few reference projects, risk of greenwashing, and the certification not being internationally recognized. The solutions proposed to address these barriers include economic incentives, simplification of the process, improved access to information, a targeted information campaign, green loans and financing options, more reference projects, and restructuring the certification to focus more on direct measures for emission reductions rather than compensation. 

The reported results from the interviews are well-grounded and strong, as there are quotes supporting each cited "motivation", and several positive outcomes were mentioned by multiple companies, such as it is becoming easier to build low-carbon buildings with the help of the certification. There are also results that were mentioned only once, making them weaker, for instance, only one company mentioned costefficiency in certain parts of the process. 

Similarly, several challenges were frequently mentioned by companies, such as material selection and increased costs, indicating that these barriers are significant. However, challenges like greenwashing were mentioned fewer times and are therefore not considered major obstacles.