2020 National Green Building Standard Now Available

Sustainability and Green Building
Published

The 2020 edition of the ICC-700 National Green Building Standard® (NGBS) has been approved by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) and is available for public use. The NGBS provides the roadmap for residential professionals to integrate green practices and features appropriate for their businesses and local housing markets. As of April 2020, more than 216,000 homes have been NGBS Green certified.

The 2020 edition is the fourth edition of the standard, which reflects significant changes based on evolving market conditions and feedback received over the past decade from those using the standard. This edition expands the application of innovative practices and offers additional options toward achieving certification. Changes include:

  • A new Chapter 12: Certified Compliance Path — for Single-Family Homes, Townhomes and Duplexes — that is intended to provide an entry point to certification for single-family builders, particularly production builders.
  • An expanded scope that now includes certification for:
    • Mixed-use buildings in their entirety as long as the residential portion of the building is greater than 50% of gross floor area; and
    • Assisted living facilities, residential board and care facilities, and group homes.
  • A new water-efficiency performance path using an index that generates a score relative to a standard baseline home and equates that to an NGBS certification level.
  • A substantially revised remodeling chapter that offers:
    • An option to utilize a phased approach for multifamily remodeling projects; and
    • A choice of prescriptive or performance compliance paths for energy and water efficiency.

The NGBS includes high-performance building practices in six areas: Lot Design and Development, Resource Efficiency, Water Efficiency, Energy Efficiency, Indoor Environmental Quality, and Building Operation & Maintenance.

The NGBS has several certification levels — Certified, Bronze, Silver, Gold and Emerald — providing residential building professionals options to integrate sustainability and high performance into their project at a level most appropriate for their business model, customer base and local housing market.

The NGBS continues to provide architects, builders and developers the flexibility needed to design and construct homes and mixed-use buildings that are sustainable, cost effective and appropriate for a home’s geographic location.

“The benefit of the NGBS is its flexibility — that I'm able to pick practices that work together rather than have a very prescriptive set of practices that I have to follow,” says John Barrows, NAHB Sustainability and Green Building Subcommittee Chair and founder of B3 Builder Group in Bridgehampton, N.Y. “I can tailor the practices from the options in the program so that I meet my clients’ budget a little bit easier.”

Download the NGBS for free at nahb.org/ngbs.

For more details about NAHB's sustainable and green building initiatives, contact Sustainability and Green Building Program Manager Michelle Diller. To stay current on high-performance residential building, follow NAHB’s Sustainability and Green Building team on Twitter.

Subscribe to NAHBNow

Log in or create account to subscribe to notifications of new posts.

Log in to subscribe

Latest from NAHBNow

Economics | Multifamily

May 08, 2025

Multifamily Developer Confidence Falls in First Quarter

Confidence in the market for new multifamily housing declined year-over-year in the first quarter, according to the Multifamily Market Survey (MMS) released today by NAHB. The MMS produces two separate indices. The Multifamily Production Index (MPI) had a reading of 44, down three points year-over-year, while the Multifamily Occupancy Index (MOI) had a reading of 82, down one point year-over-year.

Sustainability and Green Building | Advocacy

May 07, 2025

Energy Star Transition and Its Effect on NAHB Members

Several recent media reports suggest that the Energy Star program, a proven private-public partnership administered by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), is going through a possible transition period that could lead to its elimination.

View all

Latest Economic News

Economics

May 06, 2025

Mortgage Activity Levels Off in April as Rates Increase

Mortgage loan applications saw little change in April, as refinancing activity decreased. The Market Composite Index, which measures mortgage loan application volume based on the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) weekly survey, experienced a 0.4% month-over month increase on a seasonally adjusted (SA) basis. However, year-over-year, the index is up 29.3% compared to April 2024.

Economics

May 06, 2025

Prices for New Homes Continue to Drop as Existing Rises

The median price for a new single-family home sold in the first quarter of 2025 was $416,900, a mere $14,600 above the existing home sale price of $402,300, according to U.S. Census Bureau and National Association of Realtors data (not seasonally adjusted – NSA).

Economics

May 05, 2025

Student Housing Construction Investment Rises in the First Quarter of 2025

Private fixed investment in student dormitories increased by 2.3% in the first quarter of 2025, reaching a seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) of $4.04 billion. This gain followed a 1.0% increase in the previous quarter. However, private fixed investment in dorms was 2% lower than a year ago, as elevated interest rates place a damper on student housing construction.