Mayor Vincent C. Gray announced Feb. 1 that the District of Columbia will introduce new construction codes next month which, Gray said, would put the District at the forefront nationally for sustainable building practices.

The District’s Construction Codes incorporate most of the model codes issued every three years by the International Code Council (ICC). The District, which currently uses the 2006 ICC Codes, will now leapfrog to the 2012 ICC Codes.

“By adopting the most recent ICC Codes, the District will be a national leader in requiring the most modern and sustainable building practices,” Gray said in a statement.“

The adoption of new construction codes, in conjunction with implementation of the Green Building Act, will ensure that the District remains on the cutting edge of ‘green’ building practices.”

The adoption of the District’s Construction Codes was completed by the Mayor-appointed Construction Codes Coordinating Board, which is housed within the Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs (DCRA).

“By moving quickly to adopt the very latest building codes, the Mayor and DCRA are taking a significant step to make our city more efficient and competitive,” said District Department of the Environment Director Christophe A.G. Tulou. “We are a heavily urban environment and will not be a truly sustainable city until we maximize the efficiency and healthfulness of our buildings. We look forward to working with DCRA and the building industry to put these codes into practice.”

The 2012 ICC Codes will consist of the International Green Code, the International Energy Conservation Code, the International Building Code, the International Residential Code, the International Property Maintenance Code, the International Fire Code, the International Existing Building Code, the International Mechanical Code, the International Fuel Gas Code, the International Plumbing Code, and the National Electrical Code.

The District was recently recognized by the U.S. Green Building Council as having many more square feet of LEED-certified green buildings per capita than any state.