The International Code Council has announced the publication of a new resource on building performance standards (BPS) and energy codes entitled Energy Codes and Building Performance Standards: Supporting Energy Use and Emissions Reductions in Buildings. It is the latest in a series of energy efficiency and greenhouse gas (GHG) resources that the Code Council has published to help communities around the world achieve their sustainability and resilience goals. 

Energy Codes and Building Performance Standards: Supporting Energy Use and Emission Reduction in Building provides code officials and building departments with background on BPS and broad recommendations on greater coordination between policies for new and existing buildings. Also highlighted are the benefits of BPS and the nuances of policies that are being enacted across the United States by state and local governments, as well as the Federal Government. Energy stakeholders will also find clarification on the intricacies of enacted policies and are encouraged to participate in their local public engagement on BPS and energy codes alike. 

Energy experts, including designers, engineers, trade associations, research organizations and government officials participated in the development with the Code Council to produce the content. 

“The Code Council recognizes the growing interest in building performance standards to support the achievement of energy and GHG emissions reduction goals targeting jurisdictions’ existing building stock. As the largest international organization of building safety professionals, the Code Council is uniquely qualified to provide both insight and recommendations that can assist building and construction stakeholders in navigating the current building regulatory landscape,” said Ryan Colker, Code Council VP of Innovation. “We look forward to collaborating with communities, BPS experts, code officials and building departments to address the gaps in coordination between new and existing buildings regulation.” 

In March 2021, the Code Council’s Board of Directors issued a new framework to support advancements in energy efficiency and GHG reductions entitled Leading the Way to Energy Efficiency: A Path Forward on Energy and Sustainability to Confront a Changing Climate. The framework included provisions for the development of technical and policy resources that provide communities with tools to support achievement of their energy efficiency and GHG reduction goals. These resources are intended to be used independently and adopted alongside the baseline code to support community needs in specific areas.   

This framework also supports the Code Council’s new decarbonization strategy entitled Decarbonization of the Built Environment: Solutions from the International Code Council.  

For more information visit the Code Council’s energy resource page.