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Green Building Standard to Be Based on NAHB Guidelines
In an effort to bring uniformity to sustainable building practices, the International Code Council and NAHB have announced an agreement to develop and publish a residential green building standard.
The announcement was made during a press conference at the International Builders’ Show in Orlando, Fla. with NAHB Green Building Subcommittee Chairman Ray Tonjes, ICC President Wally Bailey and Rick Weiland, the council’s CEO.
The standard will be based on NAHB’s Model Green Home Building Guidelines and should be completed sometime in 2008.
“Today, we are proud to declare that NAHB and the code council are collaborating to bring uniformity to sustainable building,” said Tonjes, a custom builder in Austin, Texas. “It’s time for a standard for green building. But it needs to reflect the architecture, the geography and the weather and temperature patterns of the place where the home will be built. It needs to recognize the wide divergence of consumer tastes, preferences and local conditions. And it needs to avoid costly mandated practices that can cause housing to fly out of the reach of potential home buyers.”
The collaboration is another example of ICC’s commitment to green building, said Bailey. “Strong, durable homes that are safe and affordable have a smaller impact on the world's limited resources,” he said. “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.”
NAHB’s Model Green Home Building Guidelines now form the basis of more than 15 state and local green building programs around the country, Tonjes said. “The guidelines create green building programs that work and that are truly green. We are confident that this standard will become common green building practice because of the success of the voluntary programs that have started all over the country.”
“NAHB members have proven that a voluntary, region-specific, flexible program can be both truly green and also allow for innovation,” Tonjes continued. “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.”
The NAHB Research Center, which oversaw the development of the guidelines as the American National Standards Institute-accredited standards developer, will serve as the secretariat for the new standard.
“I’m delighted to announce our commitment to work with the Code Council to help advance green building practices for our industry,” Tonjes said. “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.’ That’s true of the standards process as well. It’s the right thing to do.”
NAHB and the Code Council are now seeking applicants for membership in the consensus committee for the development of 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.
For more information, e-mail Calli Schmidt at NAHB, or call her at 800-368-5242 x8132.
 Free NAHB Environmental Stewardship Brochure Available
“Stewardship: The NAHB Environmental Issues Committee at Work” is a free, new brochure available from NAHB that outlines the environmental issues the committee — working with NAHB’s environmental, regulatory and legal staff — has faced and what the committee did to help preserve needed environmental balance.
The committee’s work is central to the NAHB mission as federal, state and local agencies enact myriad rules and regulations that erode housing affordability while providing dubious benefit.
By developing, implementing and completing research strategies, NAHB has created and reinforced its role of advising and directing regulators’ activities and pursuing reform.
Bulk copies of the brochure are available free to environmental committees and others interested in learning more about the home building industry's environmental stewardship efforts.
Click here to view the brochure. To order free copies, e-mail Delecia Jenkins at NAHB, or call her at 800-368-5242 x8163.
 Get Green Building Intelligence Today at BuilderBooks.com
“Residential Green Building SmartMarket Report,” available through BuilderBooks.com, addresses the growing trends and opportunities in green home building.
The report provides the results of market research conducted by McGraw-Hill Construction and NAHB about green building in home construction.
To view or purchase this publication online, click here, or call 800-223-2665.
 Save the Date for 2007 National Green Building Conference
Mark your calendar for March 25-27 for the National Green Building Conference.
Click here for conference information, or visit www.nahb.org/greenbuilding on the NAHB Web site to learn more about green building.
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