Research Publications

Legislation and standards governing the built environment are transforming in response to the climate crisis, imperatives for decarbonization, and concern for building occupants’ mental and physiological well-being. Stretch codes, the most rapidly evolving legislation adopted by states and municipalities, set higher and more comprehensive targets than base codes for energy, emissions, and resource usage. This review paper assembles an overview of current city, state, and provincial energy stretch codes in the US and Canada, specifically focusing on those that impact building envelope design. The review also investigates emerging embodied carbon regulations and voluntary occupant health standards and identifies potential conflicts across those and operational energy targets. The article argues for more verifiable and standardized data, multioptimization design tools, and research into low-carbon envelope materials.