New Construction Code Aims to Unify and Expand Green Building Standards
by Kirsten Nelson-Johnson 
The International Code Council has just released the first public version of the International Green Construction Code (IGCC), a comprehensive standard for improving the environmental performance of commercial buildings. The code has been in the works since 2009 and aims to reduce energy use, cut greenhouse gas emissions from buildings, and optimize building performance.
The IGCC focuses on site choice, development, and land use as well as indoor air quality and the promotion of energy-efficient appliances, renewable energy systems, water resource conservation, rainwater collection and distribution systems and the recovery of greywater. This code also aims to give municipalities and local governments the power to customize these elements of the code to mesh with a region’s priorities and building conditions.
These "jurisdictional electives," is a section that allows for regional flexibility.
GreenerBuildings.com reported last fall that the state of California's green building code served as a model for the development of the IGCC. The IGCC was also written in partnership with the American Institute of Architects, global standards firm ASTM International, the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE), and the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC).
What makes the IGCC different?
• Minimum & advanced levels of performance (Green & high performance buildings)
• Overlays the ICC Family of Codes
• Help provide performance, prescriptive and pre-engineered solutions
• Accounts for local conditions
• Reflect the AIA 2030 Challenge
• Work in tandem with existing Green rating systems (ie. LEED)
• Designed with local, state & federal laws in mind
"Green building codes and standards working complementary to one another is a critical step towards advancing green building," said Rick Fedrizzi, the president, CEO and Founding Chair of the USGBC, said in a statement. “This collaboration will accelerate the adoption of green building codes and standards…across the country and around the globe as we work collectively towards transforming building design, construction and operations to green practices."
The IGCC is open for public comments until May 14, 2010 and comments will be incorporated into a second public version to be released this fall. A third and final version is scheduled for release in early 2012.
Once the code has been finalized, it will be available for municipalities to adopt as their own local and regional building codes, and can be harmonized with existing codes.
For more insight into the development of the IGCC, the full public version 1.0 is available for free download from the ICC website.
