(To read more about Real Estate Media's Green Initiative, please click here
ORLANDO-The first national standards of its kind for green homebuilding are in the works. The two most influential groups in the home building industry will be the authors. They are the National Association of Home Builders and the International Code Council, both based in Washington, DC.
The enterprise was revealed Wednesday at the 63rd annual International Builders Show being attended by 100,000 industry professionals and 1,800 exhibitors at the Orange County Convention Center. The four-day event concludes Saturday. NAHB president David Pressly and ICC president Wally Bailey made the joint announcement.
"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," Pressly said. "Members needed clearer guidance, but wanted to maintain flexibility and be able to incorporate regional distinctions." NAHB tried to fill those needs in 2005 with the publication of its Model Green Home Building Guidelines, "now a nationally recognized green building certification tool," Pressly added.
"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," he continued. "We surveyed our members a year ago and 92% of them said they would move to green building because 'it's the right thing to do.'" NAHB and ICC will 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.
Pressly added that 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."
ICC's Bailey said the collaboration with NAHB is "another example of ICC's commitment to green building." He added "strong, durable homes that are safe and affordable have a smaller impact on the world's limited resources."
Rick Weiland, CEO of ICC, said "Code Council members play an important role on code matters related to green building." He pointed out that ICC's new world headquarters, "just two blocks from the US Capitol, is in a green building and demonstrates our corporate commitment to respect the environment." He added, "Green technology is going to play an important role in our collective future, not just in the United States, but around the world."
Want to continue reading?
Become a Free ALM Digital Reader.
Once you are an ALM Digital Member, you’ll receive:
- Breaking commercial real estate news and analysis, on-site and via our newsletters and custom alerts
- Educational webcasts, white papers, and ebooks from industry thought leaders
- Critical coverage of the property casualty insurance and financial advisory markets on our other ALM sites, PropertyCasualty360 and ThinkAdvisor
Already have an account? Sign In Now
*May exclude premium content© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
