IECC Voting Registration Deadline is Approaching - Municipalities Must Register by March 29 (This is Low Hanging Energy Efficiency Fruit!)

According to the New Buildings Institute, "Improving the efficiency stringency in the energy code is the single most impactful action we can take to improve the buildings where people live and work.”  We can do this if we and our elected officials work together, and there is an immediate action our towns and cities need to take.  

The March 29 deadline is rapidly approaching for local officials to register their municipalities to vote for the next International Energy Conservation Code (IECC) version, which goes into effect in 2021.  It’s critical that as many towns and cities vote as possible, as this is the code they will be deciding to adopt or not in the future.  This vote is their opportunity to make the code what they wish it to be.  

Why does this matter so much?

• Building codes are set by states and towns/cities in the US, which tend to adopt national or international model codes put out by organizations like the International Code Council (ICC). The ICC promulgates the International Energy Conservation Code, or IECC. The vote to approve this code takes place in November this year, and communities would then decide in 2020 whether to adopt the code.  
   
• The IECC is voted on every three years, and last time somehow fewer than 500 people voted our to over 10,000 eligible officials, which means that each voter registered in each municipality can have a disproportionate impact. This means that just like those who want to conserve energy while saving money and protecting the environment, those who do not favor increased energy efficiency can also have a greater impact on this vote.  Apparently, some building industry groups that may resist change or not understand that increased energy efficiency ultimately results in cost savings that can benefit everyone and the planet, are planning to oppose some energy saving technologies and changes.  Meanwhile, a coalition of building efficiency experts are targeting a minimum energy code improvement of 10% or more in the new code.  In the last voting cycle, another 535 votes could have given us 10% greater energy efficiency in the current code.  

Municipalities MUST sign up BY MARCH 29 to be able to participate in the election.  All of the time, we hear what can we do individually, what can we do professionally, what will really affect climate change? Energy efficiency codes matter!  Tell your local officials!  If you are a local official, make sure your town or city is registered to vote!  This really is low hanging fruit, and it just makes sense.  Let’s not miss this opportunity.  
 

For more information:
https://energyefficientcodes.org/
https://newbuildings.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/IECC2021GO.pdf

Additional Sources:
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/20/opinion/climate-building-codes.html
https://bit.ly/2HOz2ci (including image credit)