Why Updating Building Codes is Essential for a Sustainable Future
Climate change has become an undeniable global crisis, with significant economic losses resulting from storms, floods, and extreme temperatures. The World Meteorological Organization estimates that 74% of reported losses1 between 1970 and 2019 were due to these climate-related events. This figure has increased sevenfold over the past decade. In 2022, we experienced the destructive power of climate change through heat waves, wildfires, storms, and flooding. Hurricane Ian and Hurricane Fiona were particularly devastating. To minimize losses, we must proactively adapt our buildings to withstand climate change stressors. But individual builder efforts alone won’t be enough; our building codes must evolve to address the changing environment.
Key Takeaway
Updating building codes is essential for addressing climate change and ensuring a sustainable, safe, and resilient built environment. By embracing energy efficiency, eco-friendly materials, and climate adaptation, we can build a better future for our communities.
The Problem with Current Building Codes
Building codes ensure the safety of occupants in buildings. Yet, updating them has been challenging, particularly in the US. The current system allows each state to establish its own regulations, often leading to outdated and inconsistent building codes. These codes permit the use of materials and technologies that contribute to greenhouse gas emissions.
Understanding Building Codes
The process of updating building codes involves various stakeholders, which can delay much-needed changes. While the intention is to have balanced representation2, building and manufacturing lobbyists often have significant sway in the process. Getting consensus among these groups and seeing any substantial change can take years.
The Need for Building Code Changes
Here are three key reasons why building codes need to be updated:
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- Energy Efficiency: Buildings consume 40% of all energy in the US3, and outdated codes contribute to energy inefficiency. By mandating better practices, energy-efficient materials, and renewable power, we can reduce the environmental impact of our buildings.
- Problematic Building Materials: In addition to poor energy efficiency, current building materials often have a negative environmental impact. Concrete and drywall are prime examples. The concrete industry alone accounts for 8% of global emissions.4 Drywall may be affordable and easy to work with, but it has a significant carbon footprint when processed. When drywall is replaced, the remaining scraps are not biodegradable and can sit in landfills for years, releasing sulfide gas that contaminates groundwater in the breakdown process. By updating building codes to require environmentally friendly and resilient materials, we can mitigate the role of buildings in climate change.
- Impact of Climate Change: Extreme temperatures, whether hot or cold, cause the contraction and expansion of molecules in each material, leading to its degradation and weakening of its resiliency. This is not just a concern for exterior materials like roofing and siding but also for materials such as insulation, which are often made from plastic that can break down from temperature fluctuations. Understanding the effects of climate change on building materials is crucial when proposing code changes, as it can further protect occupants.
- Energy Efficiency: Buildings consume 40% of all energy in the US3, and outdated codes contribute to energy inefficiency. By mandating better practices, energy-efficient materials, and renewable power, we can reduce the environmental impact of our buildings.
The Effectiveness of Changing Building Codes
Updating building codes is complex, but the effort is worth it. The Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS)5 has found that changes made after major weather events resulted in fewer property damage claims during later storms of similar strength. While concerns about cost are often raised when it comes to changing building codes, it's important to consider that retrofitting buildings to meet new standards will ultimately be more expensive than mandating these changes from the outset. The more buildings that are constructed using outdated codes, the greater the financial and environmental costs of making those buildings energy-efficient and reducing their carbon footprints.
Taking Action: Steps for Climate Change-Related Building Code Updates
The need for building code updates to address climate change is clear, but there is a trend towards weakening existing regulations due to pressure from lobby groups. Building codes must be updated to address environmental and climate change concerns.
To minimize the impact of future code updates and reduce long-term environmental costs, builders, designers, and building code officials can take proactive steps:
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- Focus on constructing high-performance, "green" buildings using environmentally friendly materials, energy-efficient practices, and renewable energy sources.
- Prioritize building improvements in areas prone to intense storms, flooding, and extreme temperatures.
- Collaborate with organizations like NEXGEN that provide innovative, safe, environmentally friendly, and efficient MgO building materials.
NEXGEN MgO – The Ideal Building Products for Today’s World
NEXGEN is dedicated to helping building professionals make the necessary changes to protect their communities. Please reach out with any questions or explore the resources available at https://nexgenbp.com/resources. Together, we can create a more sustainable future.
References
1 Weather-related disasters increase over past 50 years, causing more damage but fewer deaths
2 Understanding Building Codes
3 Why Your Office Is the Cause Of—and the Solution to—Climate Change