AWC statement on streamlining green building standards

Leesburg, Va. — American Wood Council (AWC) President and CEO Robert Glowinski issued the following statement regarding the announcement that the American Institute of Architects (AIA), ASHRAE, Illuminating Engineering Society of North America (IES), International Code Council (ICC) and U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) will collaborate on developing a framework to ensure the AHSRAE 189.1 Standard for the Design of High-Performance Green Buildings and International Green Construction Code (IgCC) are available for implementation as a regulatory standard working in alignment with the LEED green building program.

“The American Wood Council is hopeful about the recently announced strategy to harmonize ASHRAE 189.1, IgCC and LEED into a standardized tool. While the streamlining strategy presented is encouraging, its success will depend on whether the leadership of the organizations provides the direction necessary to carry-out the coordination as envisioned.

“The announcement implies that future editions of the IgCC will incorporate technical content of ASHRAE 189.1, which then becomes a green code, suitable as an alternative to LEED prerequisites. We believe that how the proposed strategy addresses baseline building performance in ASHRAE 189.1, in a manner which allows it to serve as equivalent to LEED prerequisites, will be critical to the success of this much needed harmonization across systems.

“AWC continues to support publication of the 2015 IgCC, including changes to be approved by ICC governmental voting members in October. Considerable effort has already occurred to develop the 2015 IgCC, including recognition of Environmental Product Declarations, along with other state-of-the-art green building measures.”