The International Code Council will hold its first meeting of the Sustainable Building Technology Committee (SBTC), will hold its first meeting next week in Chicago with the goal of developing an International Green Construction Code (IGCC), the nation's first code to address green commercial and high performance building.
Held from July 28 to July 30, the meetings are open to the public. Both the U.S. Green Building Council and GBI have weighed in with their support of the design and development of the IGCC. The Code Council's IGCC initiative was launched with the naming of the American Institute of Architects (AIA) and ASTM International as cooperating sponsors.
"Congratulations on taking such an important step to ensure the creation of such a code system. We are pleased to support this effort in any way possible," USGBC President Richard Fedrizzi said. Fedrizzi complimented the Code Council for "undertaking a collaborative approach to this important work."
Green Building Initiative President Ward Hubbell offered to provide a representative to work with the Code Council on determining how the IGCC will interact with green building rating systems, and technical support to the work of the SBTC. "The Green Building Initiative commends the ICC on its intentions to move forward with the creation of a green code to address commercial buildings," Hubbell said.
The Code Council Board designated the members of the SBTC, including the selection of Board Member Ravi Shah of Texas as Chair and AIA Member Chris Green of Colorado as Vice Chair. While the specific language of the IGCC code draft will be developed over several months of SBTC meetings followed by public comment, draft review hearings, and formal code hearings, the scope and intent of the code was articulated by Code Council Chief Executive Officer Richard P. Weiland at a June 29 launch of the IGCC initiative in Washington, D.C.
Weiland said: "We are now at a place in the evolution of the sustainability movement that requires thespecificity, the reliability, and enforceability that only a code can bring. Through the work of our members and friends, this action will create a code that addresses both safety and sustainability. He added that, "Our mission moving forward is to develop a green code for commercial buildings that will acknowledge the information and resources that have been developed to date, and provide every stakeholder with guidance that is grounded in the knowledge and capabilities of our diverse community."
Particular emphasis has been placed by the Code Council on the integrated nature of its codes and the value of having a green construction code that would augment and complement its existing family of I-Codes. In particular, the IGCC initiative has been introduced as providing a step beyond existing administrative provisions in the I-Codes and responding to the desire of jurisdictions for a regulatory framework that is enforceable and a useful tool for building designers as well as contractors, building owners and inspectors.
