The NAHB Research Center is seeking participants to serve on the consensus committee that will develop  the 2012 edition of the National Green Building Standard (NGBS). The application deadline has been extended to Jan. 16.

Those who would like to serve on the consensus committee must submit their applications online.

Originally developed in 2007-2008 by NAHB and the International Code Council, the 2008 National Green Building Standard was approved by the American National Standards Institute in January 2009, making it the first point-based rating system for green residential construction, remodeling and land development to be approved by ANSI.

As an ANSI-approved standard, the document is subject to periodic updates so that advances in building codes, technology and other developments can be incorporated into it.

“Green building has matured significantly in the three years since the standard was first developed,” said NAHB Green Building Subcommittee Chair Eric Borsting. “It’s time for the next iteration of the National Green Building Standard.”

The NAHB Research Center, an accredited ANSI standards developer, will again act as the secretariat, or administrator, of the standard development process.

Once completed, the updated standard will again be submitted to ANSI for approval. The development of the standard must follow an ANSI-approved process.

First, the NAHB Research Center issued its call for committee members on Nov. 15. The consensus committee that develops the standard will include government officials, advocacy groups, home builders, product manufacturers and other affected industry stakeholders in residential construction.

The committee members and other interested parties will be assigned to task groups, each specializing in a different area of the standard — such as energy efficiency, indoor environmental quality or lot and site development.

At the same time, the NAHB Research Center will announce its call for proposed changes to the 2008 edition of the standard. Individuals and groups can submit their proposals online by Jan. 31, 2011.

Task groups will review the proposed changes and develop possible committee proposals early in 2011.

In addition, the entire consensus committee will hold two public hearings at the National Housing Center in 2011.

At the first hearing, members will review all proposed changes to the standard and decide the formal committee action on each of them. After the balloting on the committee actions has been completed, a draft of the 2012 standard will be released for public comment.

At the second hearing, consensus committee members will consider, discuss and then take formal action on the public comments submitted on the draft standard.

Once the committee has completed its work, the newly updated National Green Building Standard will be submitted to ANSI for approval in 2012.

“I look forward to seeing the proposed changes and comments for this next edition of the standard,” Borsting said. “I fully expect them to reflect the dynamic nature of green building. The job of the committee will be to ensure that the changes provide an above-code program that’s challenging and that encourages the growth of sustainability, yet is achievable by the mainstream residential construction industry.”

For more information, e-mail Blake Smith at NAHB, or call him at 800-368-5242, x8583.