Building Council Submits First Report on Standards
The High Performance Building Council released its final High Performance Building report to the U.S. Congress and the Department of Energy on June 18. The council is a multi-stakeholder group formed to advance the mission of developing environmentally friendly, high-performance buildings through the effective use and development of voluntary consensus standards.
Assessment to the U.S. Congress and U.S. Department of Energy on High-Performance Buildings provides a detailed assessment of consensus standards and rating systems, how they can be used, and what other standards are needed. To read the report, go to http://www.sbicouncil.org/associations/8388/files/HPBCFinalReport.pdf.
The council's analysis of standards and codes for high-performance buildings, conclusions on the issues facing these structures (such as cost-effectiveness, safety and security, historical preservation, and more), and recommendations for supporting the development of high performance buildings are collected for Congressional review in this publicly available document.
The National Institute of Building Sciences (NIBS) in 2007 formed the council to address the requirements detailed in the Energy Policy Act of 2005. The Sustainable Buildings Industry Council (SBIC) serves as the secretariat to the council. Approximately 100 private sector and governmental organizations have come together to promote and advance the council's work, including the American National Standards Institute.
The report was prepared in response to Section 914 of the Energy Policy Act, which specifies the need for high-performance buildings that reduce resource energy consumption while improving overall environmental impact, functionality, and human comfort.
As the council enters the second phase of its work, participants will focus on profiling the attributes, metrics, and voluntary consensus standards that will facilitate the widespread design and construction of more sustainable architecture.