With nearly 128 million residential housing units existed in the U.S., if green building is going to mitigate the negative impacts that human activity has on the planet, green building must include houses.

Preparations for the development of the 2015 version of the ICC 700 National Green Building Standard are underway and there are opportunities for you to participate. 

The ICC 700 applies to the design and construction of the housing units, including the residential portions of buildings. Today there are more than 30,000 ICC 700 certified homes and lots. By comparison there are over 50,000 LEED for Homes certified residential units; and in an earlier post I blogged that beginning February 1, 2014, LEED for Homes v2008 Update to be Balloted .

Home Innovation Research Labs has issued a call for Consensus Committee applications and proposed changes to the current ICC 700-2012. Home Innovation Research Labs is an affiliate of the National Association of Home Builders and will act as the secretariat of the code development process. While self titled a “standard” the ICC 700 is actually a code that can also be used as a rating system for third party verification of greenness.    

The 2015 version of the ICC 700 National Green Building Standard will be the third iteration of this residential code. It was originally developed by a Consensus Committee and approved in January 2009. The ICC 700 was updated in 2012 and approved in January 2013.

Home Innovation Labs has issued a call for members of the Consensus Committee that will be charged with developing the update, which will ideally 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 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 March 16, 2014.

Home Innovation also announced a call for proposed changes to the 2012 edition of the ICC 700. Individuals and groups can submit their proposed changes to the NGBS online by March 24, 2014. Task groups will review the proposed changes and develop committee proposals in early 2014.

The Consensus Committee will hold two hearings in Washington, D.C., in 2014. At the end of the second hearing, Consensus Committee members will take formal action on all proposed changes. Once the committee has completed its work, the newly updated ICC 700 will be submitted to ANSI for approval in early 2015.

In an earlier post I described how ICC 700 Residential Green Certifications Will More Than Double in 2014 creating huge opportunities. You can learn about those opportunities by participating in the new and updated ICC 700.

All are invited to the symposium “Can Green Building Law Save The Planet?” at the University of Baltimore School of Law on March 26 at 5:30 p.m.  Susan Dorn, general counsel of the USGBC, Abbey Hopper, director of the Maryland Energy Administration, and others will be presenting with me. For details and to RSVP .