National Initiative to Advance Building Codes

Announced on June 1st, the Biden Harris Administration’s National Initiative to Advance Building Codes is an important step towards helping communities become more climate resilient.  Updated building codes and standards embrace smart design and construction methods designed to save lives, reduce property damage, and lower energy costs in the face of intensifying extreme weather events, such as floods, hurricanes, wildfires, and heatwaves – yet 67% of communities in the US have not adopted the latest building codes.

And it pays to do so – Communities that have adopted the latest building codes are already saving an estimated $1.6 billion annually on avoided damage from major natural hazards.

From an energy perspective – the DOE projects that modern energy codes will deliver – through 2040 – $138 billion in energy cost savings and prevent carbon emissions equivalent to the emissions 195 million cars emit annually.

Agendi will closely follow continuing developments around updating building codes to support our clients in this sector as you adapt to this accelerated move towards more climate resilient and energy efficient buildings.