PHILADELPHIA – During a ceremonial bill signing, today Mayor Kenney joined City officials to officially adopt the 2018 International Building Code for commercial construction. The new building code will make Philadelphia safer, more energy efficient, and better able to handle the effects of climate change and stand up to natural and man-made disasters. Philadelphia is the first jurisdiction in Pennsylvania and one of only three jurisdictions in the continental United States to adopt the updated building code.

“The City is taking a substantial step forward today in its efforts to ensure that buildings in Philadelphia meet the highest standards for safety and quality, said Mayor Jim Kenney. “Last year, we upheld our commitment to the Paris Climate Agreement, which means we must reduce carbon emissions by 80 percent by 2050. The new code will help us get there because 60 percent of Philadelphia’s carbon emissions come from our building stock.”

“The City has been leading by example by reducing energy consumption in our own buildings, outlined in the City’s first Municipal Energy Master Plan, which we released this past fall, said Christine Knapp, Director of the Office of Sustainability. “Now, through this update to the building energy code, new commercial buildings constructed in Philadelphia will be as much as 30 percent more energy efficient.”

Even though the International Code Council updates codes every three years to keep them as up to date as possible, Pennsylvania had not adopted a new building code since 2009. In Pennsylvania, only the state government has the authority to adopt updated building codes. City officials praised State Rep. John Taylor, who sponsored and worked to pass a bill in the state legislature to create a one-time exemption from Pennsylvania law authorizing Philadelphia to jump ahead to the 2018 Code for commercial construction.

“By adopting the 2018 International Building Code, Philadelphia has incorporated the advances made by code officials, scientists, and industry into our city’s construction standards,” said David Perri, Commissioner of the Department of Licenses and Inspections. “Modern building codes are a critical component of our strategy for improving building safety.”

The new code will go into effect October 1, 2018.