Biden Administration Launches Building Code Modernization Effort

Abstract

June 2, 2022 Jim Parsons KEYWORDS building codes and standards / Building Performance Order Reprints No Comments The White House is launching a multi-agency initiative aimed at modernizing state, local, tribal and territorial building codes and standards. The initiative is geared toward improving building energy performance as well as community resilience to extreme weather events and other effects of the climate crisis. Announced on June 1, the first day of the Atlantic hurricane season, the initiative cites Federal Emergency Management Agency studies that show nearly two out of every three U.S. communities have not adopted the latest building codes. The White House announcement also cited a 2019 National Institute of Building Sciences report that found investments in building code adoptions netted significant savings through reduced damage and faster recovery. Specific agency efforts include FEMA's new Building Codes Strategy, which will integrate and-where legally permissible-require current building codes in its programs, policies and guidance; strengthen partnerships with other federal agencies, other levels of government, non-government organizations and the private sector; and target outreach, education, and technical support efforts to increase building code adoption in underserved and vulnerable communities. "By helping jurisdictions modernize their codes and by upgrading federal buildings, this initiative can help make communities more resilient and energy more affordable well into the future, providing a strong return for federal and private dollars."The building code modernization initiative builds on previous Biden administration efforts to strengthen resilience and energy efficiency standards across the federal building portfolio. Those efforts include requiring that all new construction and modernization projects above 25,000 sq ft be designed to net-zero emissions as of fiscal 2022, and implementation of the Federal Building Performance Standards, which call for a net-zero emissions federal building portfolio by 2045, and a 50% emissions reduction by 2032..