Outreach

Access to information is a critical component to achieving successful compliance. Given the diversity of the building code community, execution of strategic outreach campaigns can improve understanding of code changes, create buy‐in, and can lead to greater levels of compliance. For more resources on the topic of outreach, please click here.

Your Vote is Needed – and Now It’s Easier Than Ever

Posted on by Kamaria Greenfield
Vote online to preserve energy efficiency provisions in the forthcoming 2018 codes. Every three years, hundreds of building industry members from states across the nation convene to develop the next U.S. model building energy code via a consensus process held by the International Code Council. The process, which includes code officials, architects, engineers, product manufacturers, builders and energy efficiency advocates, is designed to ensure that modern-day technology and building practices ...
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What Have We Done Lately?

Posted on by Kamaria Greenfield
BCAP asked the National Energy Codes Collaborative:What have we done in 2014? Approval for DOE National Energy Codes Conference in Nashville, TN   Determinations ASHRAE Standard 90.1-2013 (final) 2015 IECC (preliminary) HUD 2009 (preliminary   Compliance Initiatives Circuit Rider in Florida, Massachusetts, Rhode Island Utility programs in Massachusetts, Michigan, Nebraska, Rhode Island Collaboratives in Minnesota, Oklahoma Baseline studies in Colorado, Michi...
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The Carrot Or The Stick? Navigating The Balance In Strategies For Improving Energy Code Compliance

Posted on by Kamaria Greenfield
Written by Ryan Meres and Seul Rhee Energy efficiency advocates, governments, utilities, and others that fund energy code compliance initiatives often question whether enforcement or training and outreach are more effective at driving higher compliance rates. The answer isn’t obvious. Case in point: a recent energy code auditing initiative of New York City’s Department of Buildings is driving more stakeholders to meet the energy code, proving that more stringent enforcement increas...
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Codes, Standards and Rating Systems

Posted on by Kamaria Greenfield
Are architects unaware of their legal obligations under licensure, or are they simply negligent? Maureen Guttman, AIA In the United States, national model energy codes were created in response to the energy and economic crises of the 1970s. In 1978, Congress passed the National Energy Conservation Policy Act, which required states that received federal financial assistance to initiate energy efficiency standards for new buildings. In 1992, Congress passed the Energy Policy Act (EPAct), whi...
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CdpACCESS: A New, Easy Way To Get Your Vote Counted

Posted on by Kamaria Greenfield
The International Code Council (ICC) had a problem: Its I-Code Development Hearings were growing longer at the same time that building department budgets and staffs were growing smaller. In 2011, ICC’s Board of Directors took action, forming a Steering Committee and charging them with the daunting mission of bring the complicated code development process into the electronic age to boost the participation of Governmental Members and other stakeholders. Last November, ICC rolled out its much-anti...
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Code Officials Defeat Proposals To Rollback Historic Efficiency Gains In America’s Model Energy Code

Posted on by Kamaria Greenfield
Atlantic City, N.J., October 8, 2013 – Sound energy policy prevailed as local and state governmental officials rejected dozens of builder-sponsored home efficiency rollback proposals in a three-day marathon meeting convened by the International Code Council (ICC) to develop the 2015 International Energy Conservation Code (IECC). "Today was a victory for America’s homebuyers," said Bill Fay, Executive Director of the Energy Efficient Codes Coalition (EECC). "By dismissing efforts to roll back ...
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Compliance Collaboratives Convene To Share Lessons Learned

Posted on by Kamaria Greenfield
On August 22, BCAP hosted an information sharing webinar on an emerging best practice in building energy codes: state Energy Code Compliance Collaboratives. A compliance collaborative is a forum for experts from diverse stakeholder groups impacted by energy codes to come together to work toward common interests and goals. The collaborative is a long-term, multi-year initiative to assist its state in implementing a plan to achieve full compliance with energy codes. The webinar featured progress ...
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2013 Mayors Resolution Supports Stronger 2015 IECC

Posted on by Kamaria Greenfield
By William D. Fay, Executive Director, Energy Efficient Codes Coalition With hard-fought efficiency gains at stake, the U.S. Conference of Mayors (USCM) voted unanimously to encourage municipal support for all eligible code officials to attend the ICC’s Final Action Hearings this October in Atlantic City to support continued efficiency gains for America’s model energy code, the International Energy Conservation Code (IECC). The local and state code and other officials voting at the hearings w...
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