This year marks the fifteenth anniversary of the U.S. Green Building Council. Currently the leader of the green building industry, this organization, as you know, is responsible for running and overseeing the LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) ratings. Projects that have been awarded LEED certification exist all over the world, and to help mark their fifteenth year anniversary, we are including this brief look at USGBC history.

The USGBC was formed as part of a vision. Its founders wanted to improve the way that we live on the Earth. They wanted our buildings to work at sustaining rather than depleting our planet. Part of The USGBC’s fundamental purpose was to make green buildings a cultural norm. Part of their vision was to make green building so commonplace that eventually anyone working on a building project would embrace its methods and technologies.

No USGBC history would be complete without looking at the personal histories of the organizations’ founders. Most interviews with the principals of this organization reveal that these individuals have had a relationship with the environment or with nature that originated during their childhood. The concept of green building has existed since the 1980’s. However, the core of the USGBC was formed in the 1990’s when then president Bill Clinton asked members of the American Institute of Architects to work on greening the White House. Several of the people involved in that project branched off and helped to form the USGBC.

While working on formalizing their building standards and certification levels, they also engaged in a number of community rebuilding projects. After Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans, members of the USGBC went to this city to help with its rebuilding efforts. They were primarily able to focus on the schools in that area, and they helped to rebuild many of them in ways that made them healthier, sturdier, and more environmentally friendly than the buildings that had been destroyed.

After a tornado destroyed Greensburg, Kansas in 2007, the members of the USGBC arrived to help rebuild this small town. They worked to make this city a green model that has been noticed by developers and architects from around the world. USGBC has helped to quantify and define the effects of using green technologies in building. This pragmatic approach has helped many developers to understand the cost and environmental benefits of these technologies, and thus, it has encouraged many developers to embrace these technologies. Over the last fifteen years of USGBC history, they have brought green construction from relative obscurity to its current central role in society.

Now, this organization wants to promote green building at a rate that competes with the speed of global warming. Currently, they claim that only three percent of building efforts are green enough. However, the USGBC is working on ways that they can continue to promote LEED standards on a larger scale. For instance, they are trying to figure out how to create infrastructure elements that can be used to make entire cities greener. Ideally, they want projects to be just as concerned with how people get to their buildings and with the environmental impacts of the areas around their buildings as they are with their own green materials and building technologies.

The ultimate goal of the USBGC is to address two large issues: the effects of the industrial revolution and the effects of the world’s quickly growing population. In order to do that, they must stage not only an environmental movement but a cultural movement. They are searching for universal solutions that can endow people’s lives with meaning while also revitalizing their neighborhoods and improving the environment.

Bob Berkebile, one of the principal architects with the USGBC, has referred to Einstein’s comments about man and nature. According to Berkebile, Einstein identified an adversarial split between men and nature. Einstein claimed that if people were able to break free of this illusion, they will be able to finally see the universe as a friendly place. USGBC history is relatively short. However, their goals are immense, and the organization will undoubtedly be around a long time as they strive to reach their goal of creating sustainability within a generation.

Related Posts:

• What Can LEED Sustainability Offer Academic Institutions?
• What is LEED Certification?
• The LEED Certification Process – Part 2: Long-term Benefits
• The LEED Certification Process – Part 1: Requirements
• The Impacts of LEED Sustainability Efforts

When people ask “what is LEED certification?”, they can expect a few different answers. Basically, it is divided into four levels across several different categories. Projects earn points for using sustainable sites, using water and energy efficiently, using certain materials or green resources, and creating high-quality indoor environments. Each project is eligible to earn a total of 100 points in these categories with a possible 10 bonus points that are awarded for innovative tactics and regional priorities.

The number of points that a project earns determines their level of certification. There are four certification levels: certified (40 to 49 points), silver (50 to 59 points), gold (60 to 79 points) and platinum (80 points or more). When a project earns the platinum level, all of their certification fees are refunded. However, every project earns points in a different way depending upon which type of certification they are applying for. In the following nine sections, we will answer the question “what is LEED certification?” by looking at the different categories of certification.

LEED-NC (New Construction or Major Renovation)

This category applies to the new construction of commercial and institutional buildings, including offices, high rises, government facilities, recreational centers, factories, and labs. In this category, the site can earn 26 points, the use of water can earn 10 points, attention paid to energy and atmosphere is worth 35 points, materials are worth 14, and the indoor environment is worth 15 points.

LEED-EB: O&M (Operation and Maintenance of Existing Buildings)

This category applies to existing buildings that want to operate and maintain themselves more efficiently. It deals with areas such as cleaning the building, recycling efforts, maintaining the exterior, and upgrading equipment and systems. Buildings that have never applied for LEED can apply for this certification, and buildings that have already earned LEED for NC, SCH or CS can also apply. The points in this category are distributed almost exactly as they are in the LEED-NB category except that water efficiency is worth a possible 14 points, while materials are only worth 10.

LEED-CI (commercial interior)

The commercial interior category is primarily for tenants and interior designers. It allows people who do not have any decision making power over the outside of the building to make environmentally friendly decisions for the interior of the building. When they make the interior greener, they also make it healthier, more productive, and cheaper to run and maintain. The bulk of points in this category are awarded for energy and atmosphere with a total of 37 points available in that category. The quality of the indoor environment is worth a possible 17 points.

LEED-CS (core and shell)

This category, which is complementary to the LEED-CI category, deals with the core and the shell of the building. Thus, it addresses buildings’ structures, envelopes, and HVAC systems.   In this category contractors and developers can earn 28 points for their site, 10 for their efficient use of water, 37 for their attention to the energy and the atmosphere, 13 for the materials they choose to use, and 12 points for the quality of their indoor air. Additionally, they can earn the same 10 bonus points in innovation and regional priority that every category is eligible for.

LEED-SCH

This category addresses the particular needs of schools, from those housing primary grades to high school students. It is similar to the LEED-NC, but it also looks at the acoustics in classrooms, how the materials work to prevent mold, and other environmental factors that are important for children’s health issues. With 19 possible points, this category assigns more points to the quality of the indoor environment that any other LEED category.

LEED-Retail

This is the category that can help a bank, a restaurant, a clothing store, or an electronics store win LEED points. It is applicable to all retail projects. Under LEED-Retail, projects must apply for points under the new construction category or the commercial interiors category. To determine which categories may apply to you and how to earn points, you may wish to speak to a LEED consultant from Burnham. They can guide you through the entire certification process, whether you are applying in the retail category or any other category.

LEED-HC

As one of the newest LEED categories, LEED-HC applies to health care facilities. Buildings that are being designed for use as medical facilities, such as doctor’s offices, nursing homes, and even medical schools, should try to earn points in this category.  Because this category has been in existence for less than a year, a LEED consultant may be necessary to help you ascertain how to focus on each of the six categories that you can earn points in.

LEED-Homes

Even residential structures can earn a LEED certification. These green homes must be carefully built with LEED guidelines implemented in every step of the process.

LEED-ND

LEED-Neighborhood development is the ninth and final of the categories that buildings can earn points in. This category has been established as a joint effort between the USGBC, the Congress for New Urbanism, and The Council for the Defense of Natural Resources. To earn LEED certification in this category, a project must have third-party proof that their location and their designs are environmentally responsible and their development techniques are sustainable.

Related Posts:

• The Impacts of LEED Sustainability Efforts
• What Can LEED Sustainability Offer Academic Institutions?
• The LEED Certification Process – Part 2: Long-term Benefits
• The LEED Certification Process – Part 1: Requirements
• Why Do You Need LEED Consulting?

There are many benefits to making your next project green. One of the easiest identifiable benefits is getting tax benefits and credits through the LEED certification process. In addition, you may also make your building run more efficiently and have a higher resale value. It is not always easy to identify what the LEED certification requirements are. In order to assist you, we have compiled a look at these requirements in this article. To further assist you in your efforts, we have a team of LEED trained professional consultants who can help you along every step of the way. First, this article will look at the different aspects of LEED certification. Then, it will include a brief analysis of how meeting these requirements can save you money. 

There are many different categories in which a project can earn LEED certification. These include the following: newly constructed buildings, the core and shell of buildings, schools, newly constructed or renovated retail locations, and newly constructed or renovated healthcare buildings. Each of these six categories has different certification requirements. In order to gain certification in any one category, you will need to satisfy the requirements of that category. Some of the requirements overlap. For instance, you can use solar energy in any of these categories. However, some of the requirements are unique to a particular category. In the school category, you can earn points by buying and using furniture that is non-toxic and safe for school children to sit in all day.

There are also ways that you can satisfy LEED certification requirements for your building’s interior design. Part of the certification process addresses the green design and construction of a building’s interiors. In this large category, there are two subsets, and they are devoted to commercial interiors and retail commercial interiors. There is also a certification for the operation and maintenance of existing buildings. This certification requires your project to address everything from the types of cleaning solvents that it uses to the way it addresses whether or not idle machinery stays switched on. You can also earn credits for helping to develop your neighborhood from a green standpoint. Even residential properties can earn LEED credits.

In every LEED certification process, there are six categories in which a project can gain points. These categories look at the following aspects: the sustainability of the site, the efficiency of the water usage on the site, the total energy use in the project and its effect on the atmosphere in the area, the usage of green materials, and the environmental quality of the air at the site. Projects can earn a total of 100 points. In addition, they can earn six bonus points for being innovative and four bonus points for being a priority in their region. If they earn a minimum level of 40 to 49 points, they receive basic certification. In the next level, they must earn 50 to 59 points for a silver rating. If they earn 60 to 79 points, they will get a gold ranking, and if they earn over 80 points, they will receive a platinum ranking. Residential properties are ranked on a different scale.

However, even with this information at hand, it can be difficult to assess the value of the various requirements. For the purposes of this article, we can show you a few examples of how projects have saved money. If you would like to estimate how much a particular green building technology would save you, you should speak with one of our green consultants.

Recent studies indicate that the efficiency of LEED buildings is good enough to cover the costs of implementing those building methods. For instance, one contractor has suggested that if a building’s energy usages are reduced by 20 percent, it can save the building’s owner about 36 cents per square foot every year. In a 100,000 square foot building, that represents a savings of approximately $36,000 per year.

Some LEED requirements help businesses save money by the way that these green efforts affect the people who work in these buildings. When buildings have a less toxic interior, the personnel in those buildings are more productive and sick less often. In the United States, it is estimated that the labor costs of the average business are approximately $150 per square foot per year. If a cleaner indoor environment improves worker productivity by one percent, it will save the business about $1.30 per square foot per year. In a 100,000 square foot building, that equates to a yearly savings of about $130,000 per year. Ideally, indoor environmental efforts will equate to more than a one percent increase in productivity and will save the business owner more money.

These are only two examples of how the LEED certification process can save you money. For more information on certification requirements and how they can benefit you, we at Burnham Nationwide would love to speak with you. We can guide you to the answers about how to save money while helping the environment.

Related Posts:

• The Impacts of LEED Sustainability Efforts
• A Look at the LEED Platinum Rating
• What Can LEED Sustainability Offer Academic Institutions?
• How Using Green Construction Materials Saves You Thousands
• Why Do You Need LEED Consulting?

Using green construction materials can present a higher upfront cost for developers than traditional building materials. However, there is a very persuasive argument that these materials are worth the higher initial investment; they increase the resell value of the property, save the building thousands of dollars in yearly energy costs, and benefit the environment. In addition, as green building technologies continue to be developed, some of their prices will drop.

Trying to determine how much money is saved through the use of green construction materials may, at times, be hard. The cost of a roof made with green building technologies is difficult to assess, and so too, is the financial benefit. When contractors make a roof with LEED points in mind, they can use a roof-comparison calculator. These calculators, like the one created by the National Roofing Contractors Association, take into consideration a number of factors, from materials to roof size. Then, they calculate your potential energy savings. They cannot, however, take into account certain factors like the heating and cooling equipment, the local weather, or the efficiency of other areas of the building that may negatively impact the roof.

When you look at statistics, you need to keep in mind the fact that roof efficiency varies from building to building. Zinco, a green roof manufacturer from Germany, estimates that green roofing materials can help a building to save 2 liters of fuel per year for every square meter of roof. They estimate that the roof will pay for itself over two to three years of use. When their materials were used on a London roof, they saved £4,300 ($7,060) in energy costs per year at the current energy rate. In this case, their materials were added to a pre-existing roof, but if they had been used when the building was new, they may have saved £10,000 ($16,419).

The cost benefit of green construction materials is hard to calculate, but when you come across statistics, they are always favorable. In addition to energy cost savings, green building technologies offer a host of other advantages. They can remove carbon emissions from the air, sometimes at an incredibly impressive rate that allows one roof to remove the impact of dozens of vehicles. They also increase the resale value of the building in a manner that suggests that a two percent higher investment in building materials can yield a twenty percent return in resale value.

Related Posts:

• The LEED Certification Process – Part 1: Requirements
• Green Remodeling: It’s Never Too Late!
• Growing Trends in Green Building Technologies

There are many quantifiable results regarding LEED sustainability efforts. However, there are still some which are difficult to measure, and the criteria are based on factors that vary from project to project. If you are interested in calculating how cost-effective your LEED efforts will be over the lifetime of your building or how high your potential ROI may be if you sell your building, you should speak with the Burnham LEED consulting team. We can help you ascertain the financial and/or environmental benefits of your LEED sustainability efforts.

Keep in mind while looking at any numbers that the financial benefits of different efforts vary drastically from project to project. However, those numbers can provide you with an idea of what you can expect or hope to achieve when you employ various green building strategies in your project. According to the USGB, buildings that are LEED-accredited with Energy Star status have a rate of return of at least twenty percent. As more and more projects rely on LEED standards, older non-LEED certified buildings will lose value, and the LEED buildings will gain as much as a thirty percent return on their investment. In addition to financial benefits, there are other benefits that are vastly important although they are not as easy to quantify. These benefits include things like improved worker health or positive environmental effects. According to a study done by Greg Kats in 2003, the additional building costs required to garner the twenty percent return would only cost contractors an additional two percent in building costs.

Several LEED consulting professionals have studied the impact of LEED sustainability measures in some Portland buildings. They discovered that when a $60,000 investment was used to make an existing building ‘greener’, the building’s operators would save $250,000 in energy costs over a twenty-five year time period. In addition to saving nearly $10,000 a year, the building which had a green roof engendered air pollution benefits that were equal to taking 70 cars off the roads. Analysts place a $90,000 value on that effect.

Without a doubt, LEED sustainability efforts will make your building project friendlier to the planet. However, they will also gain you a substantial monetary return on your investments. Our LEED consulting team has vast experience working under LEED guidelines, and we look forward to helping you figure out what to implement and at what cost for what return.

Related Posts:

• What Can LEED Sustainability Offer Academic Institutions?
• The LEED Certification Process – Part 1: Requirements
• Why Do You Need LEED Consulting?
• A Look at the LEED Platinum Rating
• LEED Gold Certification: What Is It & How Can You Get There?

If you have already bid on or are planning to bid on a project that is trying to gain points for LEED certification, you will be well-served by Burnham’s LEED consulting team. If you speak to a Burnham LEED accredited professional, we will advise you on all of the LEED requirements that are the contractor’s responsibility. We can guide you through the process in a manner that ensures that your building is built to meet LEED standards and that your efforts are cost effective. Then we help you to apply for and get certified by the USGB.

The USGB is the United States Green Building Council, and they oversee the LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) program. LEED, in turn, certifies buildings through the Green Building Rating System. Contractors are able to gain points for their building by satisfying a number of different green criteria. To gain accreditation, they must gain a certain number of points which are awarded for things like roofs, water systems, or other aspects of their projects.

Burnham’s LEED consulting team, led by a LEED accredited professional, will guide and support you as you choose how to make your building sustainable. We assist you with your entire project, from implementing green strategies to submitting the right paperwork to the USGB. We even study and review different aspects of the project, and help you report those findings to the USGB so that you gain all of the points that you are eligible for. Our analysis can include anything from figuring out the amount of waste that you divert on the project to drafting your Air Quality Management plans to calculating the percentage of local materials that your project has used.

Both the construction team and the owner’s team must submit paperwork. We will help submit that information so that it is done correctly and does not face any delays during the approval process. In addition, we act as a liaison between the two teams to ensure that each team understands their role as well as their partner’s role.

When you turn to the Burnham LEED consulting team, you gain a quality relationship with a LEED accredited professional who can guide you every step of the way. Our guidance will help you identify areas where you can improve green building strategies, qualify for the points that you deserve, and figure out where you can gain additional points. Need help figuring out the logistical aspects of applying for LEED certification? Ask us; we’re here to make sure that your project is approved and accredited as quickly as possible with a minimum of hassles.

Related Posts:

• What Can LEED Sustainability Offer Academic Institutions?
• A Look at the LEED Platinum Rating
• The LEED Certification Process – Part 1: Requirements
• Green Remodeling: It’s Never Too Late!
• LEED Gold Certification: What Is It & How Can You Get There?

Our team at Burnham has LEED-accredited professionals who can guide you through the entire LEED certification process step by step. We’re here to help you with every aspect of the process, from answering “What is LEED certification” to filing the requisite paperwork to figuring out which aspects of your project are the most integral to achieving your certification.

What is LEED certification?

LEED stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, and it is a certification that can be applied to both new constructions and the renovations of old buildings. LEED certification is awarded by the USGBC (the United States Green Building Council) for projects that meet certain strict environmental criteria. These requirements range from proper HVAC systems to efficient plumbing systems to carbon dioxide emissions reductions. The list of criteria is virtually endless, but it all concerns building or modifying structures so that they are environmentally-friendly.

How to start the LEED certification Process

Obtaining LEED certification requires project managers to fill out and file several sets of documents. The applications require information about which LEED credits the project is applying for and which team members are responsible for the oversight of each credit. The applications also request calculations regarding each credit and its prerequisites. Since the process is quite complex, Burnham offers nationwide services that help contractors and developers apply for and understand these credits and their calculations.

The advantages to obtaining LEED certification (the Why)

In addition to environmental benefits, obtaining a LEED certification also offers builders various tax benefits. The tax benefits differ from state to state, but as a general rule, approximately one third of all LEED costs can be claimed as tax credits. If developers without tax liabilities earn LEED credits, they are actually allowed to sell them to other companies.

Although the answer to “What is LEED Certification?” is fairly straightforward, obtaining LEED certification is rather complex and cumbersome. However, with the assistance of our professionals at Burnham, the process can be very simple, understandable, and streamlined.

Related Posts:

• No Related Posts

In addition to LEED certification, there are many things that developers and contractors can do to promote energy efficiency and other sustainable features in their constructions. Our consulting professionals are LEED-accredited, but are also well informed on other green methods. Sustainable consulting includes advice on the costs of various green building technologies, their expected impact on the environment and how to include them in your project.

There are countless general conservation techniques that can be used when designing a building and its surrounding grounds. These techniques strive to save existing vegetation and decrease a building’s potential energy consumption. In addition to environmental benefits, these techniques can also offer budgetary pluses, as they reduce certain manufacturing and construction costs, increase the resale value of the property, and ultimately offer lower energy bills.

When looking at the seemingly high costs of adding energy-efficient elements to your projects, you may be tempted to skimp on these additions. However, when you see our detailed reports on the initial investment costs of implementing energy-efficient features compared to the long term savings on utility bills, you may change your mind! When we offer sustainable consulting advice, we like to focus on the environmental benefits of green building techniques that reduce the amount of carbon dioxide entering the atmosphere, the cost-saving benefits of such techniques, and the costs that you will incur to implement them.

Because buildings produce close to half of our carbon output, many people restrict their thoughts of energy efficiency to carbon emissions. However, building with an eye toward water conservation is also extremely important. Every gallon of water that is saved can work to protect areas like rivers and wetlands. Using less water also means that less energy is required to clean the used water. Water conservation can be accomplished by simple techniques, such as installing efficient toilets, or more involved methods, like installing drainage systems that keep storm run-off moderately contained. We look forward to discussing green building techniques and your next project with you!

Related Posts:

• Green Remodeling: It’s Never Too Late!

by David Anderson, Licensed Architect and LEED AP BD & C

Energy consumed by all the buildings in Chicago accounts for 70% of the city’s total greenhouse gas emissions and a substantial portion of these buildings are the homes where we live. To help counteract this, the Chicago Climate Action Plan calls for several agencies to come together and ramp up retrofitting homes in the Chicago area with a 25 million dollar Department of Energy grant.

This topic was part of the discussion at the USGBC Illinois Chicago Branches presentation on the emerging residential green real estate market. The event was held at the Green Depot, a smaller version of a Lowes or Home Depot for sustainable building materials located at Fullerton and Pulaski in Chicago. The program discussed a variety of topics including different residential green rating systems including HERS and LEED for Homes and marketing green homes to prospective buyers.

Part of the outcome of all of this is the creation of a Green MLS where real estate agents can market new or retrofit green homes to clients. The MLS or Multiple Listing Service is assembled by the Real Estate Board as a shared database of virtually all the homes for sale in the United States. Homes have already been listed on the Green MLS in parts of the country for several years and more areas are picking up on this trend. Preliminary studies conducted in Portland and Seattle have shown that green certified homes take less time to sell and fetch higher prices than their non-certified counterparts. An important statistic as the housing market continues to struggle with a glut of homes for sale in the wake of the financial crisis.

Hopefully this represents the start of a shift where sustainable homes will become part of the mainstream marketplace instead of being unique “only house on the block” entities.  The public building sector has led the way up to this point with an ever increasing number of new buildings and existing building retrofits seeking green certification with both building owners and municipalities seeing the long term value of building sustainably. Reaching greenhouse gas emission reduction goals by 2020, 2040 and beyond will become more of a reality with housing doing its part.

Related Posts:

• No Related Posts

By Christopher E. Chwedyk, CSI, AIA

A funny thing happened on the way to an impending battle between opposing Green Building codes and standards: the two main opponents joined forces.

In January of this year, after a tumultuous, four-year development process that included the disbanding and reorganization of the committee charged with its creation, the long-awaited ASHRAE Standard 189.1-2009, Standard for the Design of High-Performance Green Buildings Except Low-Rise Residential Buildings, the first ever code-enforceable green building standard in the nation was approved and published.  Developed by American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air-Conditioning Engineers, the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) and the Illuminating Engineering Society (IES), and modeled on LEED, the standard addresses site sustainability, water use efficiency, energy efficiency, indoor environmental quality (IEQ), and the building’s impact on the atmosphere, materials and resources.  These five subject areas, as well as requirements for construction and high-performance operation, are each addressed in separate sections.  Requirements for construction and operation plans – including the commissioning process, building acceptance testing, measurement and verification, and reporting of energy use, water use and indoor air quality – are also specified to assist building owners in achieving high performance operation.  By some measures, Standard 189.1 could lead to site energy savings of between 10 and 34 percent over the ASHRAE Standard 90.1-2007, based on the minimum prescriptive recommendations of the new standard – and possibly even higher.

Hot on their heels, in a remarkably swift nine-month development process, the International Code Council (ICC) released its own International Green Construction Code (IgCC) on March 15th.  Developed in partnership with The American Institute of Architects (AIA) and ASTM International, the IgCC had been anticipated to compete directly with Standard 189.  Instead, all six associations stood together to support IgCC’s launch at the press conference launching the public-comment version.  Rather than challenging Standard 189, IgCC has now included it as an alternate compliance path as a first step to greater integration, connecting it to ICC’s vast code network that reaches all 50 states and 22,000 local jurisdictions.

ICC began developing its green code last Summer, after realizing that some jurisdictions that would normally use their codes were pretty much stuck making up Green codes on their own, because they had no model code language to work from.  While the IgCC’s effort was playing catch-up with Standard 189 and, apparently, aiming to compete with it, many of the same technical experts were actually involved with both efforts.  Concern had developed that this parallel effort was leading up to an unnecessary choice for jurisdictions: either pick the ASHRAE standard or pick IgCC.

Remembering that the ICC was initially formed more than fifteen years ago as a result of mounting concerns about what competing codes do from a regulatory perspective, this is not a surprising move on their part.  Inconsistency in codes from one community to another has long complicated the work of designers and contractors, and competing options could easily have bogged down the entire Green code adoption process in many state and local jurisdictions.  Years of fighting have been avoided as a result in this pact.

The relationship between the two publications will likely be not unlike that of the International Energy Conservation Code (IECC) and ASHRAE Standard 90.1, Energy Standard for Buildings Except Low-Rise Residential Buildings, which date as far back as the 1980′s when they were known as the Model Energy Code (MEC) and Standard 90A.  Both were and still are separate, stand-alone publications.  When ASHRAE 90A became 90.1, it was, for a time, the leading standard for energy requirements in the U.S. and was frequently adopted by reference in state and local jurisdictions.  With the advent of the International Codes, however, it became much more likely to see the IECC be adopted – as part of the “International Code Family” that includes and works with the ICC building, fire, property maintenance codes.  With 90.1 included as an alternative compliance method within the IECC, both publications have thrived.

Version 1.0 of IgCC is currently available on the ICC website for download and possible adoption by state and local governments, after coming out of a committee process that included open public meetings and hearings.  At the same time, ICC is just starting a public comment process, with a first round of comments open until May 14, 2010.  Public hearings are scheduled for August, and the planned release of version 2 is in November 2010.  That version will stand until the 2012 code updates are released, at which point ICC will promote and manage the evolution of the IgCC alongside its other International Codes.

While Standard 189 is now an option within the IgCC, there are significant differences between the two.  However, the public comment process will provide an opportunity to increase their alignment.  ASHRAE will actually be submitting certain sections of the 189 for consideration by IgCC, according to one source.  Over time, all parties expect the two documents to influence and grow together.

A third influential green code, California’s Green Building Standards Code, or “Calgreen,” is not officially part of this union, but state officials have pointed to the use of Calgreen as one of the reference doc’s for the IgCC.  Dave Walls, executive director of the California Building Standards Commission, participated on the IgCC committee.  According to Owens, informal conversations may be underway about including Calgreen in the alignment effort.

State and local jurisdictions still have the option of adopting part or all of Standard 189, or the IgCC into their codes and regulations.  However, Standard 189 covers areas that can affect a communities’ zoning regulations in addition to their building codes, so adopting it wholesale would take some cross-departmental collaboration.  Regardless of the complexities, the partnership with IgCC gives Standard 189 a huge boost in the code adoption process, and it can be expected that Green codes will move forward nationwide much more quickly than anyone previously thought.

___________________________________________________________________________________

About the Author:

Christopher E.  Chwedyk, AIA, CSI is a licensed architect, Director and Chief Code Consultant of The Code Group at Burnham Nationwide in Chicago.  He was previously the principal of Gage-Babcock and Associates; a firm specialized in fire protection engineering.  With 33 years of experience in the architectural field, Mr. Chwedyk has performed numerous code compliance plan reviews for the City of Chicago and other municipalities.  An adjunct faculty member of Harper College since 1998, Chris teaches courses on building codes and construction drawings.

Related Posts:

• The LEED Certification Process – Part 1: Requirements
• >Burnham Takes a Bite Out of the Big Apple
• Burnham Celebrates It’s 20th Anniversary!
• Building Energy Audit Checklist: 3 Areas Not to Miss
• Sprint Chicago Service Outage?