The International Code Council announced in a press release yesterday that it has launched its International Green Construction Code (IGCC) initiative, which will reduce energy usage and the carbon footprint of commercial buildings. Entitled “IGCC: Safe and Sustainable By the Book,” the initiative is committed to develop a model code focused on new and existing commercial buildings. It will focus on building design and performance. Buildings consume approximately 40 percent of energy used and produce about the same amount of the nation’s carbon emissions, says IGCC.

The Code Council included a number of key organizations during its announcement, including noting special roles for the American Institute of Architects (AIA) and ASTM as cooperating sponsors for this important project.

“We believe the time has come for us to develop a code that will stand as a useful and credible regulatory framework for creating a greener commercial building stock,” said Code Council Chief Executive Officer Richard P. Weiland. “We applaud and plan to utilize the good work of those who have developed systems, guidelines and standards to address green buildings.”

Weiland acknowledged the presence of many organizations that have developed “green tools” impacting the built environment and welcomed their support and assistance in crafting the new initiative. After recognizing the historic role of Code Council members in the development codes such as theInternational Energy Conservation Codeand the rapid evolution of new systems and guidelines to address green technology, Weiland said it was time to move into a “new era of codes that specifically focus on green buildings and high performance. We are now at a place in the evolution of the sustainability movement that requires the specificity, the reliability, and the enforceability that only a code can bring.”

Code Council Board President Adolf Zubia outlined the Code Council’s development timeline, which will include public meetings of the Sustainable Building Technology Committee (SBTC), a public comment period on the Committee’s initial draft, and a final draft that will be made available in 2010 as a resource document before it moves through the development hearing and final action hearing stages. The Code Council Board established the SBTC last year and finalized the Committee’s membership earlier this month.

The AIA and ASTM will have visible participation in the development process. Weiland referenced the compatibility of the AIA 2030 carbon neutrality goals with the green code initiative, and emphasized the importance of design, architects and architecture in creating a useful tool for AIA members as well as the Code Council membership. The cooperation of the ASTM “signals the collaboration behind this project and the science that will drive it,” Weiland said. “Their cooperation with us will ensure we pursue a development process that is based on recognized and verifiable approaches to standards.”

To visit the IGCC web page, go towww.iccsafe.org/IGCC. For more information on supporting publications and services for green activities, please review the Code Council’s green pages atwww.iccsafe.org/green.