International Green Construction Code ( IGCC )

The Intl. Code Council launched its Intl. Green Construction Code (IGCC) initiative, “IGCC: Safe and Sustainable by the Book,” which will reduce energy usage and the carbon footprint of commercial buildings.

The initiative aims to develop a model code focused on the design and performance of new and existing buildings, which consume approximately 40 percent of the nation’s energy and produce approximately 40 percent of the nation’s carbon dioxide emissions.

According to Richard P. Weiland, chief executive officer of the Code Council, the development of codes, such as the Intl. Energy Conservation Code and the rapid evolution of new systems and guidelines to address green technology, has led the Code Council to move into “a new era of codes that specifically focus on green buildings and high performance. We are now at a place in the evolution of the sustainability movement that requires the specificity, the reliability, and the enforceability that only a code can bring.”

The development timeline for the IGCC will include public meetings of the Sustainable Building Technology Committee (SBTC), a public comment period on the Committee’s initial draft, and a final draft that will be made available in 2010 as a resource document before it moves through the development hearing and final action hearing stages.

Additionally, both AIA and ASTM will have visible participation in the development process of the green code, which will be compatible with the AIA 2030 carbon neutrality goals. Adolf Zubia, the board president of the Code Council, emphasized the importance of design, architects, and architecture in creating a useful tool for AIA and Code Council members. According to Weiland, the cooperation of ASTM will ensure that the Code Council pursues a development process that is based on recognized and verifiable approaches to standards.

The first public meetings of the SBTC are scheduled for 8 a.m to 5 p.m. on July 28-29 and 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. on July 30, at the Wyndam O’Hate Hotel in Rosemont, IL. The meetings of the SBTC are open meetings with the meeting dates posted on the Code Council website.

For more information, visit www.iccsafe.org/IGCC or www.iccsafe.org/green.

Chipotle Grill First Platinum LEED Certification

Chipotle Earns the First LEED-Platinum Certification Awarded to a Restaurant

DENVER, Colo. -- A Chipotle Mexican Grill in Illinois with its own wind turbine and a 2,500-gallon underground water cistern to harvest rainwater was certified by the U.S. Green Building Council at the organization's highest rating.

The Denver-based "fast-casual" dining chain of more than 860 restaurants and the USGBC announced the certification today.The restaurant in Gurnee, Il., which opened last fall, is the first to receive the top green rating under the USGBC's retail pilot program for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design standards covering new construction. LEED's five-tier green ratings start at basic certification and proceed to bronze, silver and gold before reaching the platinum level.In addition to the 6 kilowatt wind turbine, which was expected to produce about 10 percent of the restaurant's energy and is now described as generating "a portion" of the power needed, the Gurnee restaurant features:
• LED lighting• Water-saving faucets and toilets• Energy Star-rated kitchen equipment• Landscaping with native plants, which are irrigated with water captured in the cistern• Parking lot asphalt that reflects the sun's heat instead of absorbing itChipotle started introducing energy efficiency and eco-friendly design elements in some of its buildings in 2001. Its first two restaurants that were constructed with green features are in Texas; one of them was featured in a case study by the utility Austin Energy. The Gurnee restaurant and one that opened in a shopping in mall in Minnesota during the past year were designed to conform to LEED standards. According to the USGBC, Chipotle also has two further restaurant projects registered -- one in Seattle and one on Long Island.The chain awaits word on LEED certification for the Minnesota and Long Island restaurants, a representative for the company said. Image courtesy of Chipotle Mexican Grill.


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