New Green Building Code Open For Comment

According to a press release on the U.S. Green Building Council's website, the proposed new standard 189P that will provide minimum guidelines for commercial green building practices is nearly complete and has been released for public review and comment.  The standard is being developed by the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) in conjunction with the Illuminating Engineering Society of North America (IESNA) and the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) and will be the first of its kind in the United States.

This standard differs from LEED in that it is not intended to be a rating system.  Though it may become a LEED prerequisite, standard 189P as an ANSI-accredited standard is meant to be a set of criteria that local officials incorporate into local building code.  Standard 189P will provide a baseline for sustainable design, construction, and operation of new commercial buildings and major renovation projects, and will address key areas of performance including energy efficiency, greenhouse gas emissions, sustainable site selection, water usage, materials and resources, and indoor environmental quality.

According to John Hogan, chair of the Standard 189P Project committee, "Standard 189P will become the benchmark for all sustainable green buildings in the United States because it is being developed for inclusion into building codes.  This means that owners and designers will have a consensus-based document that will set the minimum criteria that a building must satisfy in order to be considered a green building. The real impact of Standard 189P is that ASHRAE, along with IESNA and USGBC, is taking advanced energy conservation guidance mainstream for the general public's benefit."

Anyone involved in the building industry or with an interest in green, sustainable building should review the draft which is available for download at ASHRAE.org.  Comments will be accepted through July 9, 2007 and are open to everyone. 

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