USGBC applauds NAHB's leadership in stepping forward with ICC to create an ANSI standard for green homes
Washington, DC (Vocus) February 9, 2007
The U.S. Green Building Council today announced its support of the just-announced partnership between the National Association of Home Builders and the International Code Council to create an ANSI standard for green homes.
"USGBC applauds NAHB's leadership in stepping forward with ICC to create an ANSI standard for green homes," commented Rick Fedrizzi, President, CEO, and Founding Chair of the U.S. Green Building Council. "Buildings overall represent 48% of all CO2 emissions in the US - a leading cause of climate change - and homes on their own represent 21%. NAHB and ICC's partnership holds the potential to contribute to the solutions to climate change, and can help create healthier, better homes in the process."
Fedrizzi continued, "LEED for Homes, now in its pilot phase and due to be released this summer, recognizes leading-edge practices in green home building through third-party verification. What USGBC is learning through the LEED program can contribute greatly to NAHB and ICC's efforts. With that in mind, USGBC has already expressed our interest in becoming a member of their standards committee."
USGBC was recognized in November 2006 as an ANSI accredited standards developer. USGBC is currently a partner in the development of Standard 189 together with ASHRAE and IESNA, in which effort AIA is also collaborating. Standard 189 will deliver a code-language baseline standard for commercial green buildings.
"LEED sets the bar for leadership in green building practices, and is an essential resource for the building community to transform itself toward more sustainable practices" concluded Fedrizzi. "Given the imperative of turning back the clock on climate change, we'll reach that goal must more swiftly by working together."
About LEED
The LEED® (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Green Building Rating System™ is a feature-oriented rating system where credits are earned for satisfying specified green building criteria. The five major environmental categories of review include: Sustainable Sites, Water Efficiency, Energy and Atmosphere, Materials and Resources, and Indoor Environmental Quality. Certified, Silver, Gold, and Platinum levels of LEED green building certification are awarded based on the total number of points earned within each LEED category. LEED can be applied to various building applications including new construction, commercial interiors, core & shell developments and building operation and maintenance. LEED is currently under development for neighborhood development and homes. LEED has been adopted nationwide by federal agencies, state and local governments, and interested private companies as the guideline for sustainable building. For more information visit usgbc.org.
About USGBC
The U.S. Green Building Council is the nation's leading coalition of corporations, builders, universities, government agencies, and nonprofit organizations working together to promote buildings that are environmentally responsible, profitable and healthy places to live and work. Since its founding in 1993, the Council has grown to more than 6,300 member companies and organizations, a 75-person professional staff, a broad portfolio of LEED® products and services, the industry's popular Greenbuild International Conference and Expo, and a network of over 70 local chapters, affiliates, and organizing groups.
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