Top industry groups agree to streamline green building tool development

Washington, D.C. -- In a first, the International Code Council (ICC), ASHRAE, the American Institute of Architects (AIA), the Illuminating Engineering Society of North America (IES) and the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) have come together and signed an agreement to collaborate on the development of Standard 189.1, the International Green Construction Code (IgCC) and the LEED green building program.



The move is designed to create a comprehensive framework for jurisdictions looking to implement and adopt green building regulations and codes and/or provide incentives for voluntary leadership programs such as LEED.



“ASHRAE see this as a move forward in green building, reducing fragmentation of compliance documents for users who are pressing toward a more sustainable environment,” ASHRAE president Tom Phoenix said.



The agreement outlines the development, maintenance and implementation of new versions of ANSI/ASHRAE/IES/USGBC Standard 189.1, Standard for the Design of High-Performance, Green Buildings Except Low-Rise Residential Buildings, and the IgCC, which will be combined into one regulatory tool.



This agreement also seeks to align the LEED program with the new code to ensure a streamlined, effective set of regulatory and above-code options for jurisdictions across the country.



“This landmark agreement will leverage the unique strengths of each of the five partner organizations to deliver a coordinated, integrated suite of green building tools. An ANSI standard as the basis of a regulatory code to push the market and a rating system to pull the market higher” said Brendan Owens, VP, LEED, and U.S. Green Building Council.