The international Green Construction Code (2018-IgCC) was released in November to facilitate and standardize green building design and assist state and local governments in streamlining code development, adoption and enforcement. By adopting this code, governments would incorporate resilient, high-performance green building strategies into their building codes to help save money, protect resources and increase the resilience and health of communities.
Developed jointly by the International Code Council (ICC), ASHRAE, the US Green Building Council (USGBC) and the Illuminating Engineering Society, the unified, model code is integrated with ASHRAE’s standard for high-performance buildings (ANSI/ASHRAE/USGBC/IES 189.1) and aligned with the LEED green building rating system.
The IgCC standard has come a long way since its first iteration in 2009. Fifteen states had adopted it in full or an edition of it including Wisconsin’s neighboring states of Illinois and Minnesota. The standard is designed to reduce the impacts of landscape, urban heat island, light pollution, and stormwater runoff as well as water use, energy use, emissions and peak demand. It is designed to improve indoor environmental quality and occupant health and to address materials and resource use. It covers all building types other than low-rise residential buildings. USGBC, ENR