Two movements converge in U.S. to issue new green building code

The International Code Council (ICC), the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE), the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), and the Illuminating Engineering Society of North America (IES) have joined to launch a new International Green Construction Code (IGCC)
The new code, “provides 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 across the U.S.,” said the group.
The new code represents the convergence of two national movements in the U.S. to develop green building codes. For decades, ASHRAE and the International Code Council have been the industry standard of care for the design, construction, operations and maintenance of the environmental systems for residential and commercial buildings in the U.S. and internationally.
More recently, the U.S. Green Building Council has become a nationwide green building movement centered on the LEED Green Building Rating System. LEED was launched in 2000.
“The convergence of these efforts in the IGCC is perhaps the most significant development in the buildings industry in the past 10 years,” said an ASHRAE press release.
Included in the International Green Construction Code is ANSI/ASHRAE/USGBC/IES Standard 189.1, Standard for the Design of High Performance, Green Buildings Except Low-Rise Residential Buildings, as an alternate path of compliance. The standard was another combined effort of ASHRAE and the USGBC. It was recently issued following three years of development. Like the IGCC, Standard 189.1 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.