AWC is looking forward to attending White House Conference

 Wednesday, May 11, 2016

The American Wood Council (AWC) is participating in today’s White House Conference on Resilient Building Codes where the Administration, and private and public collaborators will discuss the role of building codes in furthering community resilience, and the economic benefits of resilient design. The event is also hosted by the National Institute of Building Sciences (NIBS) and coincides with National Building Safety Month.

AWC has co-signed an Industry Statement on Resilience, which was initiated by the American Institute of Architects and NIBS. Additionally, in a commitment to the White House, AWC is partnering with the International Code Council and other organizations to participate in the development of a Resilience Rating System. The proposed system will allow communities to evaluate their preparedness and ability to recover from disasters.

Robert Glowinski, AWC’s President and CEO, issued the following statement on today’s event.

“Today’s building codes and standards address many of society’s top concerns when it comes to the built environment, from public health and safety to the environmental impacts of the materials used. However, defining a broad term such as resiliency is no small feat in the United States, where the code development process is uniquely led by the private sector, bringing together interested parties to deliberate best practices for the construction of new buildings. With model codes being reviewed and changed every three years to adequately address the safety performance of buildings and determine whether any improvements are necessary, it’s more important than ever to get all stakeholders on the same page. As society’s priorities shift based on lessons learned year-over-year, updated codes offer an added layer of protection to make communities more resilient, sustainable and livable for future generations.

“We have an opportunity to encourage governors and state legislators to prioritize and adopt modern building methods and codes for safer, more resilient communities. A solid common federal definition that recognizes proper wood construction as resilient will aid legislators as they consider how to keep up with the ever-changing built environment and eliminate conflicting and arbitrary definitions from other sources”.

“AWC thanks this administration for its leadership to make communities less vulnerable when natural disasters or other tragedies occur.” Glowinski concluded.

Tags: Administration, American Wood Council (AWC), National Institute of Building Sciences, private and public collaborators, Resilient Building Codes, White House Conference