The National Green Building Standard ICC-700 (NGBS) is the first residential green building rating system approved by ANSI, the American National Standards Institute, as an American National Standard. The NGBS provides practices for the design, construction, renovation, and certification of multifamily buildings, mixed-use buildings, and other buildings used residentially such as assisted living facilities, dorms, and hotels.
Under the NGBS, green building practices are assigned point values. The residential portion of a building can attain one of four performance levels — Bronze, Silver, Gold, or Emerald. For a building to attain any certification level, all applicable mandatory provisions must be correctly implemented. In addition to the mandatory provisions, the NGBS requires the building to include enough green building practices in each of the six categories to meet the category minimums for each NGBS Green certification level.
The non-residential (commercial) portion of mixed-use buildings can also earn NGBS Green certification. The commercial portion of the building can select from two certification paths:
For either commercial space certification option, the building must successfully incorporate the relevant 2020 NGBS Chapter 13 practices. Once the applicable practices are verified, the commercial space can earn the Certified level.
As an ANSI-approved green building rating system, the NGBS provides builders and consumers with a credible definition of green building. Since it provides a flexible, expansive point-based system for certification, it also offers builders and developers an affordable process to build green homes that meet their goals, are appropriate for their specific climate, and meet the needs of their particular market and home buyers.
Home Innovation is an AIA-approved training provider. Architect firms interested in learning more about NGBS Green compliance and certification can request a free in-person or virtual session. More details here. Want to learn if your building can earn NGBS Green certification? Contact us.