California institutes the First Statewide Green Building Code

This week, California because the first State to announce a statewide green building code standard.

“With this first-in-the nation mandatory green building standards code, California continues to pave the way in energy efficiency and environmental protection. Today’s action lays the foundation for the move to greener buildings constructed with environmentally advanced building practices that decrease waste, reduce energy use and conserve resources,” said Governor Schwarzenegger. “The code will help us meet our goals of curbing global warming and achieving 33 percent renewable energy by 2020 and promotes the development of more sustainable communities by reducing greenhouse gas emissions and improving energy efficiency in every new home, office building or public structure.”

Among other things, the code will require that new buildings meet the following standards:

• Reduce water consumption by 20%
• Divert 50% of construction waster from landfills
• Seperate water meters for commercial buildings' indoor and outdoor water use
• Moisture-sensitive irrigation systems for large landscape projects

California anticipates that the new code will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 3 million metric tons equivalent in 2020.

For more information, see the press release here.

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