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.