New Ordinance for Sustainable Buildings
Codes & Standards
Home > Ordinance for Sustainable Buildings
High Performance Building Requirements for Sustainability
Click here to download
High Performance Building Requirements for Sustainability,
Version 1.5
 As
more and more states and municipalities are developing ordinances
requiring “green” or “sustainable” buildings,
the officials in charge of adopting the new rules are scrambling
for appropriate codes language. To fill this void, the Portland
Cement Association (PCA) has developed a sample ordinance, written
in mandatory language, that amends and appends the International
Code Council International Building Code to address high
performance buildings.
The requirements, however, does not stop at energy efficiency and
other issues traditionally included in other programs intended to
encourage green or sustainable construction.
Key to the ordinance is the inclusion of guidelines for building
structures that are more durable—resistant to fire, wind storms,
flood, seismic events, hail impact, and other potential disasters.
A sustainable building with a higher degree of durability can decrease
the amount of materials going to landfills and use of community
resources when disasters occur. After Hurricane Katrina more than
44 million cubic yards of building materials and contents were disposed
of in landfills. The PCA ordinance provides mandatory requirements
for increased resistance to natural disasters and reduces the number
of buildings that need to be reconstructed after such events.
The requirements include the concepts in most other sustainability
or green standards that are within the purview of the building code
department while enhancing disaster resistance and setting more
stringent durability requirements.
The use of these provisions results in code requirements that will
provide jurisdictions with more durable, more energy efficient,
safer, and more disaster resistant building while reducing the negative
environmental impacts of building design and construction. Enactment
of these provisions allow jurisdictions to enjoy long term cost
savings, have more continuous occupancy and use coupled with the
many other benefits of high performance buildings.
The provisions developed by PCA to amend and append the IBC are
based on years of technical expertise and involvement in the development
of building codes and standards including but not limited to energy
conservation and environmental impacts. This is a new, more
complete and comprehensive approach that combined energy conservation
and environmental impact requirements with enhanced durability and
disaster resistance.
The intent of these design and construction requirements are buildings
that will:
- Be more energy efficient, exceeding the minimum building code
requirements by at least 20%.
- Be constructed with materials that are sustainably harvested,
extracted, processed and manufactured
- Minimize the contribution to pollution and landfills when disasters
occur.
- Have lower operating costs
- Qualify for lower insurance costs
- Have higher appreciation
- Attract quality and environmentally concerned occupants
- Appeal to investors
- Deliver proven performance
- Offer longevity and community acceptance
- Have lower maintenance costs
- Provide improved fire protection and reduce the potential for
conflagrations
- Improve occupancy comfort and productivity through enhanced
air quality, noise control, safety, security, and thermal comfort.
- Improve the ability for continuous use and operation and re-use
- Maintain a more consistent tax base
- Minimize the expenditure of community resources when disasters
occur
For ease of adoption and use the amendments to the International
Building Code are organized by chapter and section consistent
with the IBC format. The provisions are intentionally limited to
issues typically within the purview of the building code and zoning
and land use officials. The provisions are written in mandatory
language. There are no requirements for sole source certification
or fees that increase the initial project design cost.
The provisions are closely aligned with the intent and concepts
of both the Whole Building Design Guide (wbdg.org)
and High Performance Building Council. Enacting and enforcing these
provisions provides the basis for owners and designers to obtain
certification as a US Green Building Council (USGBC) Leadership
in Energy and Environmental Design for New Construction (LEED-NC).
What Can You Do?
| States – States
are encouraged to enact these amendments and, to the extent
possible, appendices for all state-owned or funded buildings.
States with statewide building codes are encouraged to enact
legislation that permits local jurisdictions to amend statewide
building codes to permit local enactment of these more stringent
requirements for high performance buildings. |
| Local Jurisdictions – Counties, municipalities,
and other local jurisdictions are encouraged to enact these
amendments for all buildings owned or funded by the local government.
Adoption of these provisions for all buildings may be appropriate
for some jurisdictions. |
| Federal Agencies – Federal agencies
should adopt these provisions for all Federal government owned
or funded buildings. |
Click here to download the High
Performance Building Requirements for Sustainability, Version
1.5
The Portland Cement
Association is actively involved with several entities developing
“green” building codes. Entities and their programs
include American Society of Heating Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning
Engineers (ASHRAE) SSPC 189.1 Standard for the Design
of High-Performance Green Buildings Except Low-Rise Residential
Buildings; several standards under the purview of the
American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) Committee
E60 on Sustainability; ECD Energy & Environment Canada/Green
Building Initiative (GBI) Green Globes Design for New
Buildings and Retrofits; International Code Council (ICC)
International Green Construction Code (IgCC) and
US Green Building Council (USGBC) Leadership in Energy
and Environmental Design for New Construction (LEED-NC).
|
|