The California Building Industry Association supported the adoption of new mandatory green building standards which will help ensure that California remains at the cutting edge of the green building movement while keeping new homes as affordable as possible.

The California Building Standards Commission on July 17 made California the first state in the nation to incorporate green building standards into its building codes. The codes, developed by the state Department of Housing and Community Development, will be phased in over the next three years. The new statewide standards will help homebuilders move green building into the mainstream.

California homebuilders are already building homes that are far more energy-efficient than homes built to national standards, and that also conserve water and other important natural resources. In fact, the carbon footprint of a new home built today is already 25 percent less than that of a home built in 1990.

Our members are taking green building to the next step, but we need consistent, understandable and cost-effective standards that will ensure we don't add to the state's already critical housing affordability problems.

The standards address the following key issues:

Energy Efficiency (July 2009): The HCD standards require compliance with the California Energy Commission's Residential Energy Efficiency Standards, which will increase the stringency of existing statewide energy standards by 20 percent. The new standards will make new California homes approximately 50 percent more energy-efficient than homes built to national energy standards.

Water Conservation (July 2011): The HCD standards require a 20 percent reduction in overall water use within all new homes starting on July 1, 2011. While this new water-conserving building code will allow a variety of compliance options, it is anticipated that compliance with this requirement will commonly be met via installation of new super-low flow toilets and showerheads.

Air Quality, Moisture Control & Resource Conservation (January 2011): There are 16 features in this remaining category that will become mandatory at the same time as the new 2010 edition of the California Building Code takes effect, currently projected to happen on January 1, 2011. Among these environmentally friendly features are requirements for low- or no-VOC (volatile organic compound) adhesives, paints and coatings; high-efficiency air conditioning filters to better filter out dust and particulates; and always-on exhaust fans to ensure better fresh air circulation in the home.

In order to help the homeowner or renter understand and properly maintain all of these new features, HCD also will require a detailed building operation and maintenance manual be made available at time of occupancy.