Introduction xli

Greg Kats, the above study’s lead author and a Managing Director of Good
Energies one of the study’s main supporters, says, “The deep downturn
in real estate has not reduced the rapid growth in demand for and con-
struction of green buildings,” which “suggests a flight to quality as buyers
express a market preference for buildings that are more energy efficient,
more comfortable and healthier.” This is reaffirmed by the study which
determined that productivity and health benefits are a major motivat-
ing factor for building green. In fact, according to Harvey Bernstein, Vice
President of Industry Insights and Alliances at McGraw-Hill Construction,
“The acceleration of the green building marketplace around the world
is creating markets for green building products and technologies, which
in turn will lead to faster growth of green building.” Bernstein currently
serves as a member of the Princeton University Civil and Environmental
Engineering Advisory Council and is also a member of the Board of
Trustees of the National Building Museum and the World G reen Building
Council.
Finally, a new national green building code has been approved. This
new International Green Construction Code (IgCC) that has recently been
approved applies to all new and renovated commercial buildings and resi-
dential buildings over three stories high. Likewise, The International Code
Council (ICC) and ASHRAE have signed the final agreement that outlines
each organization’s role in the development and maintenance of the new
version of the IgCC. The new code, which is scheduled to be released
in 2018, will include ASHRAE Standard 189.1, Standard for the Design
of High-Performance, Green Buildings Except Low-Rise Residential
Buildings developed using the American National Standards Institute
(ANSI) approved ASHRAE consensus process.
The IgCC code is indeed a historic code that sets mandatory base-
line standards for all aspects of building design and construction, includ-
ing energy and water efficiency, site impacts, building waste, and materials.
The new codes differ from LEED in several ways. For example, the new
code creates a mandatory “floor” which stipulates enforceable minimum
standards on all aspects of building design and construction that now must
be reached. LEED certification, on the other hand, is voluntary, and some
building owners do not aspire to achieve it. Therefore unlike LEED and
Green Globes certifications, the new US green codes will thus raise the
standards for all buildings.
It should be noted that the 2013 California Green Building Standards
Code, or CALGreen, established by the California Building Standards