Major design/construction associations and organizations are collaborating on the development of the Standard for the Design of High-performance Green Buildings, the International Green Construction Code (IgCC), and the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) green building program.
The International Code Council (ICC), American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air-conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE), American Institute of Architects (AIA), Illuminating Engineering Society of North America (IES), and U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) announced they will create a comprehensive framework for jurisdictions looking to implement and adopt green building regulations and codes and/or provide incentives for voluntary leadership programs.
The agreement outlines development, maintenance, and implementation of new versions of ANSI/ASHRAE/IES/USGBC 189.1, Standard for the Design of High-performance, Green Buildings Except Low-rise Residential Buildings, and IgCC, which will be combined into one regulatory tool. This agreement also endeavors to align the LEED program with the new code to ensure a streamlined, effective set of regulatory and above-code options for jurisdictions across the country.
“Architects have become the leaders in employing green building techniques, and the IgCC, a valuable regulatory tool, provides support leading to the creation of a sustainable, resilient built environment,” said AIA’s CEO Robert Ivy. “This agreement, which underscores the AIA’s dedication to sustainable design and construction, should lead to more rapid adoption of responsible approaches by designers, builders, developers, and a host of other building industry groups.”
Brendan Owens, USGBC’s vice president of LEED agreed.
“This landmark agreement will leverage the unique strengths of each of the five partner organizations to deliver a coordinated, integrated suite of green building tools: an ANSI standard as the basis of a regulatory code to push the market and a rating system to pull the market higher,” he said. “We are collectively dedicated to advancing green building practices and to advancing the broader industry’s understanding about the importance of green building goals and how to achieve them.”
