International Green Construction Code (IgCC)
The 2024 International Green Construction Code® (IgCC®) provides a whole systems approach to the design, construction and operation of buildings, the IgCC contains measures that result in better indoor environments, lower impact on natural resources, better neighborhood connections, and improved walkability. It includes ANSI/ASHRAE/USGBC/IES 189.1-2023 Standard the Design of High-Performance Green Buildings Except Low-Rise Residential Buildings.
The IgCC provisions allow the seamless coordination with either the IECC® or ASHRAE Standard 90.1 for ease of adoption in any jurisdiction.
Adopting the IgCC
The IgCC is a critical part of the toolkit for jurisdictions with robust climate and energy efficiency goals. It provides adoptable code language for communities to go beyond the requirements contained in other model codes and standards to create green, sustainable buildings. A version of the IgCC is currently adopted or in use in 13 states and Washington D.C. as well as by the United States General Services Administration and the Department of Defense. See who has adopted the IgCC here.
In the U.S., buildings account for over 12% of water use, 29% of energy-related CO2 emissions, 65% of all waste outputs, and more than 76% of electricity consumption.
Sustainable, green buildings offer solutions to many of these problems by conserving resources, regenerating sites, and providing economic and societal benefits, which include resilience to natural hazards, climate change, resource consumption and management, and service.
Benefits for Jurisdictions
The 2024 edition offers jurisdictions these expanded benefits:
- Enforceable code language
- Full compatibility with the International Codes® (I-Codes®) published by the Code Council as well as ASHRAE Standard 90.1 and many other referenced standards
- Extended scope that covers areas of sustainable buildings and sites beyond the energy conservation provisions of the IECC
- Measures that result in better indoor environments, lower impact on natural resources, better neighborhood connections and improved walkability
- Ability to customize which requirements to adopt through a Jurisdictional Options table
- Appendix L, which aligns IgCC requirements with core elements of LEED versions 4.0 and 4.1
- Appendix M, which provides options for residential compliance with the National Green Building Standard (ICC 700)
The IgCC is a public-private collaboration that provides green model code requirements for jurisdictions to adopt and implement. As a result, governments do not have to take on the high cost of developing their own code from scratch and benefit from the code uniformity among adopting jurisdictions.
Order the IgCC
2024 IgCC in Digital or Print
2021 IgCC in Digital or Print
2021 IgCC User's Manual in Digital or Print
Click here to view all of the latest 2024 I-Codes.
Resources for Adopting Jurisdictions
- IgCC Resources
- USGBC: Green Building Codes
- Alignment of LEED and the 2018 IgCC
- Database of Federal, State and Local Incentives for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy
- Tax Credits, Rebates & Savings
- ICC G4-2018 Guideline for Commissioning
- The International Code Council has developed Compliance Forms and Calculators to assist users with implementation of the 2021 and 2018 editions of the IgCC.