How exciting is this? Rhode Island, through the Rhode Island Green Buildings Act, has adopted the International Green Construction Code (IGCC), developed by the International Code Council (ICC) and is the first state to do so.
This is great news because when one state adopts, then others will quickly move to follow suit.
That's what happened in April 2005, when the State of Washington signed legislation into law requiring state funded projects over 5,000 sq. ft. to achieve a minimum of LEED Silver certification.
As a result of that move, there are now there are now over 35 state governments that mandate LEED. And, per the US Green Building Council, government owned or occupied LEED buildings now make up 29% of all LEED projects.
The city of Richland, Washington became the first city in the United States to adopt the IGCC as a non-mandatory document for commercial buildings.
In an unprecedented move, the International Code Council joined forces with the developers of the "Standard 189.1 Standard for the Design of High Performance, Green Buildings Except Low-Rise Residential Buildings," by making it a compliance option within the IGCC.
The IGCC applies to new and existing, traditional and high-performance commercial buildings.
In addition to the Codes Council, cooperating sponsors of the IGCC are the American Institute of Architects, ASTM International, the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE), the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) and the Illuminating Engineers Society (IES).
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