Leading U.S. building groups have signed a new memorandum to collaborate on the streamlining of Standard 189.1, the International Green Construction Code (IgCC) and the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) green building program.

The organizations include The International Code Council (ICC), ASHRAE, the American Institute of Architects (AIA), the Illuminating Engineering Society of North America (IES) and the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC).

This major alliance plans to create a comprehensive and accessible outline for jurisdictions across the United States, looking to easily implement green building codes, while providing incentives for voluntary leadership programs such as LEED.

“This landmark agreement will leverage the unique strengths of each of the five partner organizations to deliver a coordinated, integrated suite of green building tools: an ANSI standard as the basis of a regulatory code to push the market and a rating system to pull the market higher,” says Brendan Owens, Vice President of LEED and the U.S. Green Building Council. He adds that the cooperation is committed to advancing green building practices and the industry’s respect for such practices.