The California Building Standards Commission has approved a mandatory green building code.
Dave Walls, the executive director of the commission, says the green code is a first, not just for the state but also for the nation. California has had voluntary guidelines for making buildings more environmentally friendly, but next year the rules will be mandatory for virtually all new construction projects.
Walls says the standards will require construction waste diversion from landfills and inspection of energy systems, to name just a couple of things.
"We give everybody until January 1, 2011; that's the effective date," he said. "So it gives everybody a chance...all the industry designers manufacturers and builders...to get prepared for it."
Walls says the green code will remove an estimated three million metric tons of greenhouse emissions from the atmosphere by 2020. Only hospitals will be exempt from the mandatory rules.
