California green building mandate is now official

The California Green Building Standards Code (CALGREEN) has been officially adopted making it the first green building mandate in the nation.

Mon, Jan 18 2010 at 2:00 PM

Related Topics:

Green Building, LEED

Photo: Omar Omar

Leave it to California to be the first state in the nation to mandate a green building standard. The California Building Standards Commission has officially adopted the Green Building Standards Code (CALGREEN), which will be operational as of January 1, 2011. CALGREEN will require that all new buildings in the state take measures to increase their energy efficiency and minimize their impact on the environment.

The green building requirements set forth by the CALGREEN standards include:

20% reduction in water consumption
50% of construction waste diverted from local landfills
Low VOC materials
Separate water meters to track indoor and outdoor water usage
Mandatory inspections of HVAC and other building energy systems

Once a building passes the inspection process, the property can then be marketed as CALGREEN compliant.

It was interesting to read through some of the documentation on the CALGREEN Code, including one form that compares the California Green Building Standards Code (PDF) to “point-based systems”, like the LEED rating systems. Naturally the main benefit of CALGREEN is that it doesn’t cost a property owner any extra money to receive the CALGREEN compliant designation. This code is mandated and so building owners have to follow it.

However, I don’t predict that we’ll see a significant drop in new California-based projects registering for LEED certification. While the CALGREEN standards address many of the same environmental concerns that the LEED rating system does, it isn’t going to come with the world-class recognition that the USGBC’s LEED certification has built.

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Comments: 2

Zeph Jan 16 2011 at 1:13 PM

You have an interesting take on this issue. While many people are confident in California's green building construction codes, others are skeptical. From what I have been reading, builders simply need to check a box saying whether or not they are complying with these new codes, which will make enforcing the codes fairly complex. This new CALGREEN initiative may not get as much global recognition as the LEED certification, but California is taking a step in the right direction. I am eager to see what

.... More

is going to happen with these codes. I typically use McGraw Hill's California Construction site for all construction related issues I have. Their website has a ton of valuable construction information. I occasionally do some work for McGraw Hill, but I have used them as a construction resource long before we started working together. If you are interested in staying current on construction news in California, check out their website.

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verdedude Jan 20 2010 at 3:09 PM

use http://www.mrgreenpoints.com - the best online resource for quickly identifying regionally manufactured products that can help earn CALGREEN points for certified wood, recycled content, reclaimed material, rapidly renewable material and low VOCs