ICC, ASHRAE Define Roles in Consolidation of IgCC, Standard 189.1

Aug. 19, 2015
The new IgCC will be “powered” by ANSI/ASHRAE/ICC/IES/USGBC Standard 189.1, Standard for the Design of High-Performance, Green Buildings.

In a deal nearly two years in the making, the International Code Council (ICC) and ASHRAE recently signed a final agreement defining roles in the development and maintenance of a new version of the International Green Construction Code (IgCC).

Sponsored by the ICC, ASHRAE, The American Institute of Architects (AIA), the Illuminating Engineering Society (IES), and the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), the new IgCC, scheduled to be released in 2018, will be “powered” by ANSI/ASHRAE/ICC/IES/USGBC Standard 189.1, Standard for the Design of High-Performance, Green Buildings Except Low-Rise Residential Buildings. The joint Standing Standards Project Committee (SSPC) 189.1 will serve as the consensus body, working to ensure the standard is consistent and coordinated with the ICC family of codes.

The ICC will be responsible for Chapter 1, Scope and Administration. For the 2018 IgCC, the ICC will coordinate technical provisions developed by ASHRAE with the provisions in Chapter 1 of the 2015 IgCC. As a result, the 2016 Group B cycle will not include Chapter 1 of the IgCC for code changes. With ASHRAE developing technical provisions, the ICC’s 2017 Group C cycle to develop the 2018 IgCC has been cancelled. The development process for the 2018 technical provisions will include SSPC review of the 2015 IgCC and consideration of content for inclusion in Standard 189.1-2017, along with changes generated by the committee and proposals submitted by stakeholders. Following completion of the 2018 IgCC, Chapter 1 of the IgCC will be developed by the ICC using its consensus code-development process.

“Our goal in this partnership all along has been to share resources to increase use of the IgCC and make it simpler for code officials, designers, and contractors to build environmentally efficient structures that will lessen energy and water consumption and reduce the carbon footprint,” ICC Board President Guy Tomberlin, CBO, said. “We are now situated to do just that.”

The Executive Steering Committee for the effort to align Standard 189.1, the IgCC, and LEED consists of representatives of the ICC, ASHRAE, the USGBC, the AIA, and the IES and the SSPC chair. 

“The full integration of Standard 189.1 to serve as the technical content of the IgCC will leverage ASHRAE’s technical expertise and increase the standard’s influence on sustainable buildings,” ASHRAE President David Underwood said. “We look forward to continuing to engage a broad spectrum of stakeholders in development of Standard 189.1 following the ANSI consensus standards-development process. The result will be a comprehensive compliance tool that can be used by jurisdictions worldwide that are committed to a more sustainable built environment.”

The new publication also will align the LEED green-building rating system to ensure a streamlined, effective set of regulatory and above-code options.

In 2010, ASHRAE and the ICC joined forces by making 189.1 an alternative compliance path for the IgCC. The new agreement between ASHRAE and the ICC furthers the effort these organizations initiated in 2010 by providing the market with a single code that is coordinated with the international family of codes. 

Organizations interested in joining the effort are invited to contact Dominic Sims at [email protected] or Jeff Littleton at [email protected].