ICC Releases IGCC Public Version 1.0 for Green Building Codes
March 12, 2010 // Published as a news service by IHS
The International Code Council (ICC) finalized the International Green Construction Code (IGCC) Public Version 1.0, the first green construction code for commercial buildings.
IGCC Public Version 1.0 is coordinated with existing International Codes, making it more easily enforceable, useable and adoptable, according to ICC.
The IGCC offers:
- Comprehensive code for alternative water sources, such as graywater, rainwater and reclaimed water. This is important, not just for regions struggling with limited water supplies, but to offset possible water shortages in the future, even in areas where this has never been an issue.
- The latest alternative energy technologies, such as wind turbines, geothermal heating, solar energy, energy recovery and management and control systems.
- Code requirements for a minimum level of sustainability in commercial buildings.
- The flexibility jurisdictions need in order to customize the code based on local factors, such as flood areas, greenfield sites, light pollution and others.
In addition to creating a new regulatory baseline for jurisdictions, the IGCC will allow additional customization at the jurisdictional level and will be compatible with voluntary rating systems (such as LEED and Green Globes).
Jay Peters, executive director of the ICC's Plumbing, Mechanical and Fuel Gas Group, said understanding sustainable design and the codes that support it is part of an evolution that will result in the customary integration of green construction practices into standard construction practices.
The IGCC development process included diverse experts from government, industry and advocacy organizations to produce a consensus IGCC Public Version 1.0 through a public and participatory series of meetings, said ICC.
The IGCC Public Version 1.0 is available March 15, 2010.
Source: International Code Council (ICC).