Organizations representing building safety professionals, energy and lighting engineers, green building practitioners, architects, and technical standards developers have come together to establish a comprehensive model green building code designed to rapidly advance green building practice across the United States.
The International Code Council (ICC), ASHRAE, USGBC, and the Illuminating Engineering Society of North America (IES) have announced the launch of the International Green Construction Code (IGCC), which will provide the building industry with language that both broadens and strengthens building codes in a way that will accelerate the construction of high performance green buildings all over the country.
By leveraging ICC’s unrivaled delivery infrastructure to reach all 50 states and more than 22,000 local jurisdictions, and ASHRAE, USGBC, and IES’s technical strengths, IGCC establishes a previously unimaginable regulatory framework for the construction of high performance commercial buildings that are safe, sustainable, and by the book.
“The emergence of green building codes and standards is an important next step for the green building movement, establishing a much-needed set of baseline regulations for green buildings that is adoptable, usable, and enforceable by jurisdictions,” says Richard P. Weiland, CEO for ICC. “The IGCC provides a vehicle for jurisdictions to regulate green for the design and performance of new and renovated buildings in a manner that is integrated with existing codes as an overlay, allowing all new buildings to reap the rewards of improved design and construction practices.”
ANSI/ASHRAE/USGBC/IES Standard 189.1, Standard for the Design of High Performance, Green Buildings Except Low-Rise Residential Buildings, will serve as an alternate path of compliance for IGCC. Standard 189.1 is a set of technically rigorous requirements, which, like IGCC, covers criteria including water use efficiency, indoor environmental quality, energy efficiency, materials and resource use, and the building’s impact on its site and its community.
Beginning March 15, Standard 189.1 and the IGCC will be available for wide distribution, providing much-needed content, code language, and vision for a more safe and sustainable future. ASHRAE, IES, ICC, and USGBC are also working together to advance related education and advocacy efforts to promote adoption, enforcement, and compliance with the IGCC codes that will pave the way for green buildings and neighborhoods, while creating jobs and strengthening the economy.