Development of the 2018 version of the National Green Building Standard (NGBS) is now underway.

The NGBS is a collaborative effort between the National Association of Home Builders and International Code Council, the NGBS also known as the ICC 700 provides “green” practices that can be incorporated into new homes, including high rise multifamily buildings, home remodeling and additions, hotels and motels, and the lots upon which the green homes are to be located.

The 2018 version of the NGBS will be the fourth iteration of this national residential standard.

As part of that development process, individuals and groups have been invited to propose changes to the 2015 edition of the NGBS submit proposed changes to the NGBS online by March 1, 2017.

Participating in this development process is hugely significant because as of this date there are 98,120 NGBS Green Certified Homes! The NGBS is the fastest growing residential green building standard and is the preferred green standard by many in the residential real estate sector.

NGBS is fast approaching 100,000 certified units because of while 86,256 units are NGBS certified within multifamily buildings, there are 74,648 registered units in the multifamily pipeline.

Within that number there are also 2,473 certified multifamily buildings and another 1,475 registered and in process.

The standard is, of course, not limited to multifamily and there are 11,864 certified NGBS single family homes with another 1,509 currently in process.

The NGBS is a uniquely drafted “standard” in that it can be used by any builder for their individual project as a rating system (including obtaining third party certification), or be adopted by a local government as a residential green building code. Appreciate that the International Green Construction Code incorporates the NGBS as an alternative compliance path. That is, the IgCC includes, at the option of each jurisdiction that single family dwellings or multifamily family dwellings of 4 stories or less shall comply with the NGBS (in lieu of the IgCC base green code).

And the NGBS is getting a big boost because since last year the National Defense Authorization Act authorizes use of the NGBS for Department of Defense projects. To appreciate the very large impact that the military has on the real estate industry, it is budgeted to spend more than $20 Billion on housing in 2017.

Home Innovation Research Labs will again act as the secretariat, or administrator, of the NGBS development process. Similar to the makeup of the committees convened to develop previous versions of the standard, the committee for the 2018 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 are being assigned to task groups, each specializing in a different area of the NGBS such as energy efficiency, indoor environmental quality, or lot development.

The entire Consensus Committee will hold two hearings in Washington, D.C., in 2017. At the first hearing on April 18 and 19, committee members will initiate the review of all proposed changes to the NGBS. At a second hearing in the Fall 2017 (on dates yet to be determined), Consensus Committee members will consider, discuss, and take formal action on all proposed changes.

Once the committee has completed its work, the newly updated National Green Building Standard, ICC 700 – 2018, will be submitted to ANSI for approval and release in 2018.

Again, this development process is hugely significant because the NGBS is the fastest growing residential green building standard and is the preferred green standard by many in the residential real estate sector. Go to the website and propose changes.