Residential Green Building Standard Planned

The two most influential groups in the home building industry and the code development and enforcement community, the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and the International Code Council (ICC), are collaborating to develop a residential green building standard.

In 2005, NAHB published the Model Green Home Building Guidelines, which now form the basis of more than 15 state and local green building programs around the country. 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. Both groups recognized the need for a national set of standards for home builders and others wishing to voluntarily adopt "above-code" green building practices. The new standard will provide a common benchmark for recognizing and rewarding green residential design, development, and construction practices in a manner that is transparent, verifiable, and meaningful to builders, product manufacturers, and consumers. When completed, the standard can be adopted by local green home building programs or local building departments as a conformance guide. http://www.nahbrc.org/technical/standards/gbinvitation.aspx