USGBC Recognizes New York City and San Francisco at UN Climate Change Conference
At the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Durban, South Africa, on December 5, American National Standards Institute (ANSI) member and accredited standards developer the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) recognized the cities of New York and San Francisco for their innovation in green building leadership.
New York City received the Industry Transformation award for its Greener, Greater Buildings Plan, a component of the broader PLANYC policy that requires large commercial buildings to publicly display annual energy and water benchmarks and undergo cost-effective lighting and efficiency upgrades.
San Francisco was honored with the Best Green Building Policy award for the San Francisco Green Building Ordinance, which requires all new commercial, residential and municipal construction to be built to the LEED green building program, and existing buildings to publicly disclose energy labels, undergo periodic energy audits and mandatory water efficiency retrofits at the time of sale.
Other award recipients included Mexico City; Birmingham, UK; Singapore; and Tokyo.
Click here to learn more.
NFPA Teams with USFA for ‘Put a Freeze on Winter Fires' Campaign
ANSI member and audited designator the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) and the U.S. Fire Administration (USFA) have joined forces once again to "put a freeze" on winter fires.
Between increased cooking and use of fireplaces, holiday decorations, and space heaters, home fires are more prevalent in winter than in any other season. Half of all home heating fires occur in December, January, and February. The good news is that many of these fires can be prevented.
For consumer information on winter storm fire safety, holiday fire safety, and preventive tips, visit the Put a Freeze on Winter Fires campaign website.
SES Webinar on January 18 to Highlight CANENA
On January 18, SES - the Society for Standards Professionals will host a webinar focused on the Council for Harmonization of Electrotechnical Standards of the Nations of the Americas (CANENA). Featuring guest speaker Valara Davis of UL, the webinar will run from 1:00 to 2:30 p.m. ET.
Ms. Davis is a project manager in the standards department of UL, where she is responsible for the internal coordination of UL's regional harmonization standards development efforts.
This session is part of a monthly series of SES webinars, and will include extensive opportunity for discussion with the presenter. Click here for more information and to register.
AWS Submits Revisions to Operating Procedures
The American Welding Society (AWS) has submitted revisions to its currently accredited operating procedures under which it was last reaccredited in August 2009. As the revisions to AWS's operating procedures appear to be substantive in nature, the reaccreditation process is initiated.
To obtain a copy of AWS' revised procedures or to offer comments, contact John Gayler, AWS director of national standards activities and technical services (305.443.9353 ext. 472; [email protected]). Comments should be submitted by January 16 with a copy to Jim Thompson, the recording secretary of ANSI's Executive Standards Council, at [email protected].
To view or download a copy of AWS's proposed revised operating procedures, click here.