California Continues to Set Trends in Sustainable Development in Adopting Green Building Code
In keeping with its innovative legislation of sustainable development incentives and mandates, California recently passed its Green Building Standards Code ("CGBC"). The CGBC, which becomes effective on August 1, 2009, applies to new construction, including residential, commercial, school and hospital buildings. It is structured to be a voluntary initiative initially and becomes mandatory no sooner than 2010. Officials are optimistic that the introductory period will give those impacted as well as the inspecting agencies time to adjust to the changes.
Similar to the United States Green Building Council's LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) rating systems, the CGBC 2008 Building Energy Efficiency Standards are based primarily upon percentage improvements in efficiency over an established baseline. For example, new buildings must demonstrate a 15 percent improvement in energy efficiency, a 20 percent water use reduction, and 50 percent reduction in landscaping water. Like LEED, the CGBC provides a variety of strategies that can be employed to reach these requirements.
The new code comes as a result of Governor Schwarzenegger's 2006 Executive Order calling for significant incremental energy use reductions in 2010 and 2015 and a recent law mandating a greenhouse gas emission reduction in 2020. Governor Schwarzenegger vetoed a 2007 legislative attempt to enact a statewide green building code on the basis that some of its provisions conflicted with existing safety codes. Governor Schwarzenegger followed his veto with a memorandum to legislators prompting the Building Standards Commission to revamp the CGBC to correct the apparent conflicts.
In redrafting the CGBC, the eleven-member commission sought input from the key players in the development industry - contractors, builders, environmental groups, and labor organizations. The end result is an 80-page document, complete with charts and a complementary color-coded legend that corresponds to the enforcement agencies. Local California governments also worked on the redraft of the CGBC to ensure that it created a floor rather than a ceiling in order to prevent the preemption of future local codes with stricter demands. Annual updates will keep the Code current as green strategies and technologies continue to evolve.
It is anticipated that other states will look to California in deciding whether to enact or administratively create their own statewide green building codes. As California continues to be a trendsetter in green building and other sustainable practices, states, counties and municipalities throughout the country can monitor its progress for opportunities to emulate its policies and make adjustments where necessary.