ICC News
NAHB, ICC ANNOUNCE GREEN BUILDING AGREEMENT
ORLANDO, FLA., FEB. 7 - The two most influential groups in
the home building industry and the code development and enforcement
community are collaborating to bring uniformity to sustainable
building practices. The National Association of Home Builders
and the International Code Council will undertake the development
and publication of a residential green building standard,
NAHB and ICC leaders announced today.
During a press conference at the International Builders'
Show in Orlando, Fla., NAHB and the Code Council reinforced
their commitment to sustainable building practices and the
creation of national standards for green home building.
NAHB has long recognized many of its members as leaders and
innovators in building green homes, but their efforts were
local and without any regional or national reference. Members
needed clearer guidance, but wanted to maintain flexibility
and be able to incorporate regional distinctions. NAHB took
on this task with the publication in 2005 of the Model Green
Home Building Guidelines, now a nationally recognized green
building certification tool.
ICC has been promoting green building requirements through
its widely adopted family of International Codes, which set
minimum standards for energy efficiency and sustainable building
practices for the construction industry and also recognized
the need for a national set of standards for home builders
and others wishing to voluntarily adopt "above-code"
practices.
NAHB President David Pressly was joined by Wally Bailey,
president of the International Code Council, for the historic
announcement.
The collaboration is another example of ICC's commitment
to green building, said Bailey. "Strong, durable homes
that are safe and affordable have a smaller impact on the
world's limited resources. ICC is committed to educating our
members on green building and participating in activities
with other organizations that will assure green building practices
are sustainable, safe and affordable," he said.
"Code Council members play an important role on code
matters related to green building," agreed ICC CEO Rick
Weiland. "Our new world headquarters, just two blocks
from the U.S. Capitol Building, is in a green building and
demonstrates our corporate commitment to respect the environment.
Green technology is going to play an important role in our
collective future—not just in the United States but around
the world."
The announcement is also a resounding vote of confidence
and measure of the success of NAHB's Model Green Home Building
Guidelines, which now form the basis of more than 15 state
and local green building programs around the country, said
Pressly.
"NAHB members have proven that a voluntary, region-specific,
flexible program can be both truly green and also allow for
innovation. We believe in the Model Green Home Building Guidelines,
we believe in the standards process, and we believe that the
end result will be a better document for the home building
community."
"Because the Guidelines were originally developed using
a consensus-based process, it is anticipated we'll have a
leg up in the standards-writing process," noted Pressly.
"We will once again use the services of the NAHB Research
Center, which is the American National Standards Institute-accredited
standards developer that oversaw the development of the Guidelines,"
he said.
"I'm delighted to announce our commitment to work with
the Code Council to help advance green building practices
for our industry," Pressly continued. "We surveyed
our members a year ago and 92 percent of them said they would
move to green building because 'it's the right thing to do.'
That's true of the standards process as well. It's the right
thing to do."
NAHB and the Code Council are seeking applicants for membership
in the consensus committee for the development for the ANSI
green home building standard. Applications can be submitted
at www.nahbrc.org/gbstandard
and must be received by March 10, 2007 to be considered.
ABOUT NAHB: The National Association of Home Builders is
a Washington-based trade association representing more than
235,000 members involved in home building, remodeling, multifamily
construction, property management, subcontracting, design,
housing finance, building product manufacturing and other
aspects of residential and light commercial construction.
Known as "the voice of the housing industry," NAHB
is affiliated with more than 800 state and local home builders
associations around the country. NAHB's builder members will
construct 80 percent of the more than 1.56 million new housing
units projected for 2007.
ABOUT ICC: The International Code Council, a membership association
dedicated to building safety and fire prevention, develops
the codes used to construct residential and commercial buildings,
including homes and schools. Most U.S. cities, counties and
states that adopt codes choose the International Codes developed
by the International Code Council.
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