The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and the International Code Council (ICC) announced at the International Builders’ Show in February they will be working together on the project to bring uniformity to sustainable building practices.

Both groups have championed green building through various programs that stopped short of establishing a national standard. NAHB’s Model Green Home Building Guidelines, published in 2005, have become a nationally recognized green building certification tool. They now form the basis of more than 15 state and local green building programs around the country. The ICC’s widely adopted family of international codes set minimum standards for energy efficiency and sustainable building practices.

NAHB President David Pressly said the organization’s members have sent a strong message that now is the time to go green. According to a recent survey, 92 percent of the group’s members said they would move to green building because “it’s the right thing to do.”                EC