NAHB, ICC Announce Green Building Agreement

The National Association of Home Builders and the International Code Council will undertake the development and publication of a residential green building standard, according to officials speaking at a press conference at the International Builders' Show last week. The joint effort is seen as a vote of confidence for NAHB’s efforts on the green building front.

"NAHB members have proven that a voluntary, region-specific, flexible program can be both truly green and also allow for innovation,” said David Pressly, NAHB president. “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."

Pressly noted that because the NAHB guidelines were originally developed using a consensus-based process, “it is anticipated we'll have a leg up in the standards-writing process. 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.

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. It also recognized the need for a national set of standards for home builders and others wishing to voluntarily adopt "above-code" practices, explained Wally Bailey, ICC president. Collaboration with NAHB represents another example of that commitment, he added. "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.

"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 ICC 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.