California has again taken the lead in developing regulations to reduce our carbon footprint, this time taking aim at buildings, the source of over one third of the State’s greenhouse gas emissions. On July 17, 2008, the California Building Standards Commission, the

state agency that oversees the adoption and implementation of the State’s building codes, adopted the California Green Building Standards Code (“Green Building Code”), the first statewide green building regulation of its kind.

Although the Green Building Code will only be voluntary when it initially takes effect, its statewide application is significant. So far, green building ordinances have been adopted in local jurisdictions around the nation, mostly based on the popular LEED certification standard, but until now no state has directly confronted the issue for private development. Further, the voluntary nature of the

regulations is likely to be short-lived – at least some elements of the Green Building Code are expected to become mandatory by the end of 2010.

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