Coming in 2012: The International Green Construction Code

During the first week of November, the Final Action Hearing for the International Green Construction Code (IgCC) commenced. All draft change proposals were debated and voted upon, and the International Code Council (ICC) will have the finalized document ready for publication early in 2012.

The IgCC will serve as North America’s “Green Code.” Similar in concept to the Plumbing Code and Electrical Code, it is intended to provide a host of enforceable criteria available to municipalities for adoption partially or entirely and in harmony with the International Building Code (IBC). In effect, for the first time ever, green building will be considered law and no longer voluntary in scenarios where the IgCC is enforced.

While the document itself is over a couple hundred pages long, the following approved IgCC criteria are worthy of mention.

VOC Emission Criteria: The IgCC requires that 85% of all interior floor, wall, and ceiling coverings be low or non-emitting, and municipalities have the option to require that 100% of all interior surfaces be low or non-emitting. Ceramic tile is exempted from all VOC testing criteria.

Recycled Content Criteria: Pre-consumer and post-consumer recycled content in products contribute equally in the summation of total building recycled content. This is a monumental shift from the traditional notion that pre-consumer recycled content is only worth half credit.

The first revision cycle for the IgCC will begin in 2013. With an increasing number of building material industry standards being established for sustainable products, it will be interesting to see how IgCC’s building material criteria evolve in the years ahead.