California approves the first statewide green building code

Once again Inhabitat tipped us on green news, and a very important one when it comes to buildings: the state of California unanimously approved a statewide green building code. The code will enter in full effect in 2010, to give industry and enforcement agencies the time to prepare for the new building standards.

The goals of this building code are to reduce water usage in residential and commercial structures by 20% and cutting water used in landscaping by 50%, cut the energy usage of all new structure by 15% and advocates the use of recycled and eco-friendly materials in construction as well as “flooring, carpeting, paint, coatings, thermal insulation and acoustic wall and ceiling panels”.

I couldn´t expect less from California, a state that i personally love not only because of the weather, but because of how its inhabitants think and care about the enviroment.

You can check the building code in PDF format here.

Via Inhabitat. California flag via Flickr.