The American National Standards Institute, a 91-year-old nonprofit that sets industry norms and guidelines on everything from dairy production to construction equipment, has approved the National Green Building Standard developed by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and the International Code Council (ICC).
“This news has been a long time in the making,” said Bill Killmer, group executive vice president for advocacy at the NAHB, which has been working with ICC for the last year in getting American National Standards Institute (ANSI) approval.
The move gives more muscle to the NAHB and ICC benchmark as a competitor to the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) guidelines, originally a commercial building rating system that USGBC tailored and released last year for homes.
But USGBC said recognition for one rating system helps raise awareness for the others. While inventors for each rating system described their own as rigorous -- both require third-party verification -- USGBC officials characterized the National Green Building Standard as more of an entry-level rating system catering to first-time green homebuilders. With its list of prerequisites, LEED for Homes is a more difficult prospect for builders, they said.
“Our program is designed for those builders that, quite honestly, have been in the quality movement or green movement for years and are ready for something to really distinguish their practice,” said Nate Kredich, vice president of residential market development for USGBC. The NAHB “designed [their system] to be more accessible for their membership, and I think it’s a good move. ... I think they have done a good thing at the lighter end.”
But NAHB officials said the ANSI committee had significantly ratcheted up the strength of its original guideline’s requirements, and its own levels are closely aligned to those of LEED for Homes. The combination, they said, offers more choice in the market.
“This was a consensus-based process that the industry felt it needed to take,” Killmer said in a conference call discussing the news. “This is a very rigorous committee process. Having that transparency and third-party process is going to enhance its recognition. ... It’s certainly going to be a part of the dialogue of the marketplace.”
USGBC said it didn’t pursue ANSI recognition for its LEED for Homes for the sake of speed, but it is requesting the national standards group’s approval for its LEED rating system for neighborhood developments, still being piloted.
Nationally, 125 homes have earned the NAHB green home building stamp under its original guidelines. Roughly 730 projects have applied for LEED for Homes status for a total 1,323 units across the country.