Code-Driven Green Building Standard Committee Open To New Members

The groups behind a green building standard formatted for International Code Council reference are returning to the drawing board, presumably to address

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The groups behind a green building standard formatted for International Code Council reference are returning to the drawing board, presumably to address contentious matters that include questions on recycled material content values assigned to new concrete and steel. The Atlanta-based American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air Conditioning Engineers is reconstituting membership on the committee developing the nation’s first standard of its kind: Proposed Standard 189.1, Standard for the Design of High-Performance Green Buildings Except Low-Rise Residential Buildings.

Geared to model code adoption, the standard will provide minimum requirements for the design of high-performance new commercial buildings and major renovation projects, addressing energy efficiency, a building’s impact on the atmosphere, sustainable sites, water use efficiency, materials and resources, and indoor environmental quality. The document is being developed by ASHRAE, the Illuminating Engineering Society of North America and U.S. Green Building Council. To better address the varied areas covered in the proposed standard, those organizations are in the process of appointing a new committee, posting criteria at www.ashrae.org/publicreviews.

The market will benefit from the lead taken by ASHRAE and its cosponsors in developing this most challenging standard, which addresses ever-evolving technology, said ASHRAE Presidential Member and Standard 189.1P Committee Chair Kent Peterson. We recognized that the proposed standard would benefit from additional expertise and more involvement from interested parties. We are committed to developing this green building standard with accurate and appropriate technical content through a rigorous, transparent and fair standards development process.

The proposed standard has seen two public reviews generating more than 900 comments, including input from steel interests concerned about differing methodologies for rewarding recycled material content in structural concrete and steel. Standard 189.1P Committee members anticipate their draft document will undergo a new public review following new technical guidance and input.