The Construction Specifications Institute (CSI) and ICC Evaluation Service, LLC (ICC-ES), today announced they have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to strengthen the relationship between CSI’s GreenFormat and the ICC-ES Environmental program.
ICC-ES currently references CSI’s MasterFormat and other formats in all of its evaluation reports. The MOU will add GreenFormat references.
“CSI’s GreenFormat identifies and organizes the sustainable attributes of building products,” said CSI Executive Director and CEO Walter Marlowe, P.E., CSI, CAE. “By collaborating with ICC-ES, it will help increase awareness and use of GreenFormat, particularly with products compliant to the 2012 International Green Construction Code (IgCC), so that professionals who select building products can make informed choices.”
“This MOU recognizes the complementary nature of ICC-ES and CSI’s GreenFormat in the sustainable building sector and demonstrates added value to environmental reports,” said Rob Brooks, Director of ICC-ES Environmental Programs. “While CSI provides a uniform structure for manufacturers to report the sustainable characteristics of their products through GreenFormat, ICC-ES provides evidence that products meet requirements of codes and green building standards.”
Among the agreements included in the MOU:
-
ICC-ES will add GreenFormat’s numbering scheme within new and existing ICC-ES Environmental Evaluation reports (Verification of Attributes Reports™ and Plumbing, Mechanical and Fuel Gas Listings) for environmental attributes.
-
ICC-ES and CSI will work together to maintain the relationship between GreenFormat categories and the questions in the ICC-ES Environmental Evaluation reports as both are updated and add references to new reports.
-
CSI will present ICC-ES Criteria to the GreenFormat task team for consideration as appropriate product evaluation tests within GreenFormat.
In addition, CSI and ICC-ES intend to participate in each other’s technical committees, where applicable.
GreenFormat provides a uniform structure for manufacturers to report the sustainable properties of their products. It helps industry professionals evaluate the green characteristics of building products they are considering for their projects.
The ICC-ES Sustainable Attributes Verification and Evaluation (SAVE) program provides manufacturers with independent verification that their products meet specific sustainability targets defined by today’s codes, standards and green rating systems. The ICC-ES SAVE and PMG Listing programs both evaluate the compliance of products to a subset of GreenFormat attributes. BD+C
Related Stories
| Apr 26, 2013
Solving the parking dilemma in U.S. cities
ArchDaily's Rory Stott yesterday posted an interesting exploration of progressive parking strategies being employed by cities and designers. The lack of curbside and lot parking exacerbates traffic congestion, discourages visitors, and leads to increased vehicles emissions.
| Apr 26, 2013
Decaying city: Exhibit demonstrates the fragility of the man-made world
Theater set designer Johanna Mårtensson built a model cityscape out of bread only to watch it decay.
| Apr 25, 2013
SmithGroupJJR hires Lise Newman as Workplace Studio Leader in Detroit
SmithGroupJJR, one of the nation's largest architecture, engineering and planning firms, has hired architect Lise Newman, AIA, as Workplace Studio leader at its Detroit, Mich. office.
| Apr 25, 2013
Colorado State University, DLR Group team to study 12 high-performance schools
DLR Group and the Institute for the Built Environment at Colorado State University have collaborated on a research project to evaluate the effect of green school design on occupants and long-term building performance.
| Apr 24, 2013
More positive momentum for Architecture Billings Index
All regions and building sectors continue to report positive business conditions
| Apr 24, 2013
North Carolina bill would ban green rating systems that put state lumber industry at disadvantage
North Carolina lawmakers have introduced state legislation that would restrict the use of national green building rating programs, including LEED, on public projects.
| Apr 24, 2013
Los Angeles may add cool roofs to its building code
Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa wants cool roofs added to the city’s building code. He is also asking the Department of Water and Power (LADWP) to create incentives that make it financially attractive for homeowners to install cool roofs.
| Apr 23, 2013
Building material innovation: Concrete cloth simplifies difficult pours
Milliken recently debuted a flexible fabric that allows for concrete installations on slopes, in water, and in other hard to reach places—without the need for molds or mixing.
| Apr 23, 2013
Architects to MoMA: Don't destroy Williams/Tsien project
Richard Meier, Thom Mayne, Steven Holl, Hugh Hardy and Robert A.M. Stern are among the prominent architects who on Monday called for the Museum of Modern Art to reconsider its decision to demolish the former home of the American Folk Art Museum.
| Apr 22, 2013
Top 10 green building projects for 2013 [slideshow]
The AIA's Committee on the Environment selected its top ten examples of sustainable architecture and green design solutions that protect and enhance the environment.