May 7th, 2018
by Tara Lukasik

California has been leading in the areas of energy efficiency, energy conservation and environmental protection. Builders in California will now find it easier to meet Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) standards while also complying with the state’s green building regulations.

The United States Green Building Council (USGBC), creators of the LEED green building rating system, announced significant streamlining for all LEED prerequisites and some credits for California projects that are pursuing certification under LEED v4. New projects built to California’s energy and green building codes (CALGreen) are pre-approved for significant streamlining of fundamental LEED requirements.

Deborah Weintraub, chief deputy city engineer at the Los Angeles Bureau of Engineering, stated that the LEED streamlining is welcome news for those local governments in California that are working hard to meet climate and sustainability goals. The LEED recognition will minimize duplication of work, reduce costs and focus time and resources on pursuing higher levels of LEED.

With California leading the way, many cities, counties and states are adopting green building strategies as mandatory requirements in local codes. California is the first state in the nation to adopt a mandatory green building code and consistently certifies the most projects in the U.S. year after year per capita. Last year, 475 projects achieved LEED certification in the state, representing more than 89.26 million total square feet of space

California’s first state-adopted green building code, CALGreen, is modeled after the International Green Construction Code (IgCC), which was first published in 2010 by the International Code Council. The IgCC was developed through a collaboration of the Code Council, the USGBC, and the American Society of Heating Refrigeration and Air-Conditioning Engineers.

Read more: U.S. Green Building Council Announces LEED v4 and CALGreen Alignment for California Projects

About the Author
Tara Lukasik
Tara Lukasik is an editor for the International Code Council, working out of its Western Regional Office in Southern California. Starting with the International Conference of Building Officials as the managing editor of its Building Standards Magazine, she has more than 25 years of experience in writing and editing feature content and advancing digital newsletters and magazines from conception to completion. She is currently putting her experience to good use managing the Code Council's Building Safety Journal and its BSJ Weekly newsletter, which connects construction professionals with the Code Council community and the latest industry news and resources. A California native, she enjoys volunteering in her local community and exploring the Golden State with her husband and two spoiled dachshunds. Follow her on Twitter @ICCTLukasik and Linkedin at linkedin.com/in/taralukasik.