Time’s almost up for submitting comment on Standard 189P—it will be accepted until July 9 at www.ashrae.org/publicreviews. Officially called the “Standard for the Design of High-Performance Green Buildings Except Low-Rise Residential Buildings,” it will provide a baseline for sustainable design, construction, and operations—and ultimately could be incorporated into building codes.

Addressing both new commercial buildings and major renovations, it encompasses energy and water efficiency, greenhouse gas emissions, sustainable site selection, and materials. The American Society of Heating Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers, the Illuminating Engineering Society of North America, and the U.S. Green Building Council developed it. Standard 189P is expected to be complete by the end of 2007.

The Green Building Initiative, meanwhile, expects to release for public comment a standard with similar goals in the fall.