ASHRAE’s proposes standard for so-called green building will be the subject of a press conference today at Greenbuild.

Officials from the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers will speak about the development of standard 189.1, “Standard for the Design of High Performance, Green Buildings Except Low-Rise Residential Buildings.” The standard is being written with help from Illuminating Engineering Society and the U.S. Green Building Council. It is to be published early next year.

Topics covered in the proposed standard include site sustainability, water use efficiency, energy efficiency, indoor environmental quality, and atmosphere, materials and resource impacts.

Also to be discussed are updates to the society’s standard 90.1, which is used worldwide as the basis for building codes in many structures.

“Both standards are written in mandatory language to allow for adoption with building codes,” ASHRAE President Gordon Holness said. “They are being developed using the widely respected American National Standards Institute consensus procedures. As such, their strength comes from the volunteer committee of experts from all facets of the building industry. In addition, the requirements in the draft standard were strengthened through the public review process with input from a variety of building industry professionals.”

More than 2,500 public comments on the green-building standard have been received, officials said.