An e-newsletter communicating progress on the IGCC initiative.

This IGCC UPDATE is the first in a series that will capture the coverage that IGCC has garnered, organizing that information in a way that helps provide insight into how news is disseminated and discussed. In the past 90 days since the launch of the International Green Construction Code (IGCC) initiative, the International Code Council, along with cooperating sponsors AIA and ASTM International and numerous other stakeholders, has made an aggressive push for public awareness around this game-changing initiative. The IGCC launched the code amidst a crowd of over 50 industry supporters and media with overwhelmingly positive results from all corners of the building industry. In the months following the launch, ICC and its partners have kept a steady drumbeat of news and events, which have propelled coverage in both print/online media, as well as visibility in social media communities such as Twitter. As a sidebar, our research indicates that in the “blogosphere” the online conversation surrounding “green building” is growing, with bloggers and their readers becoming increasingly influential on high-profile issues. Although “green building” and keywords such as LEED do enjoy a deep and robust amount of conversation, the volume of conversation about green building codes as a solution to increasing sustainability is relatively low at a mere seven posts per month. To increase the conversation on sustainable building codes, the IGCC outreach effort has leveraged numerous opportunities to engage people already involved in green conversations and worked to harness their interest in the role of building codes so that they become advocates for the IGCC. Within the past 90 days, we have moved the needle significantly when it comes to online presence for ICC and IGCC resulting in a 52 percent increase in Twitter followers.

The news clips below focus on the June launch event, quote ICC, AIA and ASTM in almost every clip. The clips are overwhelmingly positive in tone and the audience reach for these clips is estimated in the 100,000 to 200,000 range. In addition to the original articles listed below, trade publications also ran the news announcement regarding the June launch:

Energy & Power Management Environmental Design + Construction PM Magazine Supply House Times

ASTM eNewsletter (The news goes out to over 30,000 of their members in 135 countries) Architectural Record Supply House Times ISHN (Safety Health and Environmental News)

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Arkitectum.com Smart Brief Greensource Talk Radio News

The news clips below focus on the SBTC meetings, both generally and site-specific (e.g., Denver). The clips contain quotes from the Code Council and are positive in tone. In addition to the original articles listed below, trade publications also ran news announcements:

The Air Conditioning, Heating & Refrigeration News PM Engineer Reeves Journal ForConstructionpros.com Plumbing Engineer eNews

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Reuters - Ron Jones SBTC Announcement (picked up on several other wires) Denver Business Journal Aspen Daily News

The rise of social media community-building tools such as Twitter, Facebook and Ning have created additional opportunities for organizations to promote their brands and develop a loyal – and informed – following online. Unlike traditional news outlets, social media is often the domain of the amateur blogger/professional business person. For example, Shari Shapiro’s Green Building Law Blog is administered by Ms. Shapiro, a legal professional. While she is not a journalist, Ms. Shapiro does possess and demonstrate an expertise in the area of green building making her a credible blogger. We are monitoring the blogger community and engaging bloggers with updates on the IGCC and where to find more information. We have issued several corrections to blogs or list serve sites that maintain an influential readership and will continue to do so moving forward.

Our Twitter presence is being managed by ICC, AIA and ASTM. Through their efforts we have been able to rally attention around IGCC news to the tune of thousands of people exposed to the campaign. Twittercounter.com, an online resource for measuring effective Tweeting, started tracking ICC on June 3, 2009. ICC experienced a 52 percent increase, adding 567 new followers over the time period.

Here are a few of the Tweets that we captured during the campaign

"IGCC would be the nation's 1st green commercial code, so it's good to hear it's actually getting developed" "PR: USGBC, GBI Support for ICC's #IGCC Builds Momentum toward First Committee Mtg" #greenbuilding "USGBC, GBI Support Code Council’s IGCC: Nation’s 1st Safe/Sustainable Code (and AIA!)"

From major trade publications to talk radio, IGCC has been the talk of the industry over the past few months and the momentum shows no sign of stopping into the New Year. Look for more updates including e-newsletters, feature articles and mainstream media exposure coming soon.

» Updates from Philadephia » End of Year Progress Wrap Up » Keep checking the IGCC webpage for updates

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