USBGC Publishes Whitepaper titled “Greening the Codes”
July 30, 2010The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) has published a free white paper titled “Greening the Codes.” The white paper details how green building codes play a key role as national efforts are emerging to provide adoptable and enforceable solutions for “greening” the building codes.
“Greening the Codes” provides a detailed history of building codes, as well as defining the role that green building rating systems like Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED®) play as a seal of verified performance, and as an impetus to ultimately raise the ceiling for responsible green building practices.
The white paper also states that while rating systems like LEED have been designed to benchmark above-code leadership for building that intend to go beyond the minimum, it is equally important to complement this leadership with stronger, more comprehensive building codes.
“Greening the Codes” states “Safer, healthier, and more environmentally responsible codes are at the heart of sustainability planning for raising the floor for the entire community. These codes are a viable new baseline off which incentives for exemplary leadership and commitments for public buildings to pave the way can naturally be built.”
In addition to explaining the impact of LEED on building codes, the white paper also explains USGBC’s role in the development of the new ANSI/ASHRAE/USGBC/IES Standard 189.1, Standard for the Design of High Performance, Green Buildings Except Low-Rise Residential Buildings.
The white paper also gives a preview of the International Green Construction Code, being developed by the International Code Council and expected to be released in 2012.
“Greening the Code” can be downloaded for free via this link or via the Public Policy section of the USGBC website.
American Architectural