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Home Innovation News

11/15/2010

Home Innovation Begins Preparations for National Green Building Standard Update

Issues call for Consensus Committee member applications and proposed changes to the Standard

Upper Marlboro, Md. - The Home Innovation Research Labs, in its capacity as an ANSI-approved standard developer, has announced that preparations for the development of the next version (2012) of the National Green Building Standard are now officially underway. The Home Innovation will again act as the secretariat, or administrator, of the standard development process. Once completed, the updated standard will again be submitted to ANSI for approval.

Initiated originally in 2007 by NAHB and the International Code Council, the 2008 National Green Building Standard was developed by a 42-member Consensus Committee and approved by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) in January 2009, making it the first point-based rating system for green residential construction, remodeling, and land development to be approved by ANSI. As an ANSI-approved standard, the document is subject to periodic updates as a way to ensure that advances in building codes, technology, and other developments can be considered for incorporation.

The development of the standard must follow an ANSI-approved process. To begin the process, Home Innovation Labs is issuing a call for committee members on the Consensus Committee that will be charged with developing updates to the Standard. Similar to the make-up of the original committee convened to develop the 2008 version of the standard, the committee for the 2012 updated version will include government officials, advocacy groups, home builders, product manufacturers, and other affected industry stakeholders in residential construction.

The committee members and other interested parties will be assigned to task groups, each specializing in a different area of the standard — such as energy efficiency, indoor environmental quality, or lot and site development. Those who would like to apply to serve on the Consensus Committee or a Task Group must submit their applications online by January 4, 2011.

The Home Innovation is also announcing a call for proposed changes to the 2008 edition of the National Green Building Standard. Individuals and groups can submit their proposed changes online by January 31, 2011. Task groups will review the proposed changes and develop committee proposals in early 2011.

"ANSI rules for standards development provide for a set of checks and balances based on the principles of openness, consensus, balance, and due process, lending to the unmatched credibility of the National Green Building Standard in the residential industry," said Michael Luzier, president of Home Innovation Research Labs. "Because the ANSI process requires a balanced representation of stakeholders on the Consensus Committee and consideration of the views of all participants, this update provides an important opportunity for all those with an interest in bona fide green home building."

The entire Consensus Committee will hold two hearings at the National Housing Center in Washington, D.C., in 2011.

Once the committee has completed its work, the newly updated National Green Building Standard will be submitted to ANSI for approval in 2012.

For additional information and for all future updates on the 2012 NGBS development process, visit www.nahbrc.com/ngbs.

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