MESSAGE GUIDANCE AND KEY POINTS
(please feel free to use and adapt as makes sense for your organization)

TOPLINE: The gas industry has weakened efficiency and environmental standards in an international homebuilding code used by states and municipalities in the U.S., costing households greater resilience to storms, higher energy bills and costly retrofits.  By allowing gas lobbyists to determine its policies, the International Code Council has undermined its own credibility, meaning increasing numbers of state and local governments will likely look elsewhere for guidance.

• Our nation needs strong, quality homebuilding standards to weather the climate threats of today and the increasingly severe weather we know will come tomorrow.
• Some U.S. Cities and states have relied on the International Code Council (ICC) homebuilding standards to provide model codes. The ICC updates its recommendations every three years.
• As originally written, the 2024 IECC code was designed to ensure new homes and buildings are highly efficient and ready for a future in which electric technologies like heat pumps and EV chargers are standard. Benefits of the initially drafted code included:

• Lower energy costs for consumers
• Readiness for highly efficient, superior electric technologies
• Lower greenhouse gas emissions that fuel climate change
• More resilient buildings, better able to withstand extreme weather

• Despite the proposed 2024 code receiving overwhelming support from over 90% of voting members, at the eleventh hour the ICC has bent to the will of the gas industry, stripping the final 2024 IECC base code of electrification-ready measures such as EV charging, solar and electric appliance readiness. 
• This gas industry win will cost Americans in higher energy bills, expose them to more health-harming indoor air pollution, and force homeowners to pay tens of thousands of dollars in the future for renovation and retrofit costs.
• The ICC has long provided the gold standard for building construction codes, but has caved to industry influence in both the 2021 and 2024 IECC code cycles, breaking trust with stakeholders and proving itself illegitimate. Cities and states will want to look for other forms of leadership in the absence of ICC credibility, and our organizations stand ready to support this transition.