Orlando, FL — The two most influential groups in the home-building industry and the code-development and enforcement community are collaborating to bring uniformity to sustainable-building practices. The National Assn. of Home Builders (NAHB) and the International Code Council (ICC) will undertake the development and publication of a residential green-building standard. The announcement was made at the International Builders Show (Feb. 7-10) in Orlando, FL.

NAHB has long recognized many of its members as leaders and innovators in building green homes, but their efforts were local and without any regional or national reference. Members needed clearer guidance, but wanted to maintain flexibility and be able to incorporate regional distinctions. NAHB took on this task with the publication in 2005 of the Model Green Home Building Guidelines, now a nationally recognized green-building certification tool.

ICC has been promoting green-building requirements through its widely adopted family of International Codes, which set minimum standards for energy efficiency and sustainable building practices for the construction industry and also recognized the need for a national set of standards for home builders and others wishing to voluntarily adopt “above-code” practices. NAHB President David Pressly noted at the press conference that its membership “gets quite animated when talking about codes” as “codes have a big impact” on the development of housing projects. The idea is to create a uniform set of standards to govern green building. “We’re rediscovering practices of the past and redefining them for the future,” said Pressly, adding that green building isn’t all high-tech. “For example, passive solar can be low tech and still be green. This new initiative reinforces NAHB’s commitment to green building.”

Wayne Bailey, president of the International Code Council, said, “Green building isn’t just a trend but a responsible approach to true sustainable development. The new standards will help mainstream green-building practices, and ICC fully supports green building to develop strong, durable homes that are safe and affordable.”—[email protected]