Calling on U.S. Cities to Adopt Green Building Codes
Adopted at the 78th Annual Meeting in 2010
WHEREAS, the U.S. Conference of Mayors has previously adopted resolutions calling on cities and the federal government to take actions to reduce fossil fuel consumption and global warming pollution through green building code initiatives; and
WHEREAS, the building sector contributes over one third of all global greenhouse gas emissions released into the atmosphere each year and represents the single largest opportunity for deep emission cuts and in the U.S., the building sector accounts for 39% of the nation's energy use and 72% of U.S. electricity use; and
WHEREAS, the U.S. can save up to $140 billion a year by making our buildings more efficient, while significantly reducing energy and other resource consumption; and
WHEREAS, the U.S. Conference of Mayors has vowed to work to increase the fossil-fuel reduction standard for all new buildings to carbon neutral by 2030, in the following increments: - 60% in 2010 - 70% in 2015 - 80% in 2020 - 90% in 2025 - Carbon-neutral by 2030; and
WHEREAS, local governments have long been at the forefront for developing and implementing cutting-edge strategies to improve the health and safety of their communities' buildings by embracing new green technologies, voluntary, above-code third-party building rating systems like LEED, and mandatory green building codes; and
WHEREAS, voluntary, above-code programs continue to play an important, distinct and complementary role to mandatory green building codes; and
WHEREAS, many local governments have established - or are seeking to establish - performance-based building codes based on voluntary, leadership rating systems such as LEED rather than code-intended regulatory tools; and
WHEREAS, the advances of building sciences have recognized many technologies and methods that yield higher efficiencies, improved health benefits, and increased safety that most building codes do not yet address, creating barriers to smart solutions; and
WHEREAS, the International Code Council, American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers, American Institute of Architects, American Society for Testing and Materials, the Illuminating Engineering Society of North America, and U.S. Green Building Council have collaborated to launch the International Green Construction Code (IGCC) with code-intended Standard 189.1 as an optional path to compliance, both providing a strong starting point for states, localities and other jurisdictions striving to write minimum requirements for building design, construction and operation practices that incorporate an expanded view of safety into building codes, NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, by the U.S. Conference of Mayors that they call on all local governments wishing to take a more holistic approach to incorporating energy efficiency in residential and commercial buildiong, sustainable community planning and healthy and safe building practices into the codes to adopt the IGCC and consider its Standard 189.1 compliance path as base code in their jurisdiction.