INTERNATIONAL CODE COUNCIL ANNOUNCES RESULTS OF CODE CHANGE VOTE -Christmas comes early to foretell new era of forest products - U.S. Endowment for Forestry & Communities, Inc.

INTERNATIONAL CODE COUNCIL ANNOUNCES RESULTS OF CODE CHANGE VOTE –Christmas comes early to foretell new era of forest products —

U.S. Endowment for Forestry and Communities, Greenville, SC
For IMMEDIATE RELEASE (December 20, 2018)

The U.S. Endowment for Forestry and Communities (Endowment) applauds the International Code Council’s (ICC) unofficial voting results released this week on building code changes, including the passage of all 14 tall mass timber code change proposals. Official results are expected during the first quarter of 2019 and the code development cycle will continue through 2019. The new provisions will be included in the 2021 International Building Code (IBC).

Partnering with the Softwood Lumber Board (SLB) and the American Wood Council (AWC), the Endowment has worked for more than four years to stimulate and grow the market for “mass timber construction,” by actively working to update building codes to allow for new types of construction that leverage the value of wood. AWC provides details on the 14 code changes that can be found at: https://www.awc.org/pdf/tmt/TMT-ProposalsReviewGuide-180308.pdf

Endowment President & CEO Carlton Owen noted, “These changes foretell a new era of forest products that will spur retention and more sustainable management of forests while growing the number of family-wage jobs in forest-rich rural communities.” He added, “The collaborative effort and investment by partners with shared interests and objectives shows the power of the forest sector to advance what many considered impossible.”

“Mass timber has been capturing the imagination of architects and developers, and the ICC result means they can now turn sketches into reality. ICC’s rigorous study, testing and voting process now recognizes a strong, low-carbon alternative to traditional tall building materials used by the building and construction industry,” said AWC President & CEO Robert Glowinski.

In addition to addressing the restrictive building code, the Endowment collaborated with the USDA Forest Service’s Forest Products Laboratory in funding and conducting research to fill a host of knowledge gaps necessary to gain code changes.

# # #

For more information contact:

Carlton N. Owen
President & CEO
+1-864-233-7646
carlton@runslikeclock.work

The U.S. Endowment for Forestry and Communities (the Endowment) is a not-for-profit public charity working collaboratively with partners in the public and private sectors to advance systemic, transformative, and sustainable change for the health and vitality of the nation’s working forests and forest-reliant communities – www.usendowment.org