- 16 Jun 2025
- Standards
- ATLANTA
ASHRAE and International Code Council Announce Second Public Review Period for Proposed Emissions Quantification Standard
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MEDIA CONTACT:
Karen Buckley Washington
Associate Manager, Public Relations
kbwashington@ashrae.org
ASHRAE and International Code Council Announce Second Public Review Period for Proposed Emissions Quantification Standard
Public review period open through July 21, 2025
ATLANTA (June 16, 2025) – ASHRAE and the International Code Council have announced the opening of a second public review period for proposed Standard 240P – Quantification of Life Cycle Greenhouse Gas Emissions of Buildings.
The draft standard is available for public comment from June 6, 2025, through July 21, 2025. Interested stakeholders can access the draft and submit comments at osr.ashrae.org.
Standard 240P is designed to establish a consistent methodology for quantifying both embodied and operational greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions over the entire life cycle of buildings and their sites. It also outlines minimum requirements for documentation of those emissions.
Major changes proposed from the first public comment draft include:
- Refined definitions for improved clarity and alignment with industry terminology
- Updated figure of life-cycle stages that are included in the system boundary
- Revised global warming potential metric, changing the default from GWP-20 to GWP-100
- Expanded guidance on quantifying embodied greenhouse gas emissions
The goal of the standard is to provide a unified platform that enables building industry professionals, government agencies and the finance and investment sectors to measure, report and act on GHG emissions in a clear and coordinated manner.
“Standard 240P is intended to bring clarity and consistency to how we evaluate embodied emissions throughout the building process,” said 2024–25 ASHRAE President M. Dennis Knight, P.E., BEMP, Fellow Life Member. “By working with the International Code Council, we are helping ensure that building professionals have practical, standardized tools for emissions accounting that align with broader industry needs.”
“This standard offers a unified framework for GHG accounting, empowering the building industry and related sectors to work from a common platform to measure and report GHG emissions transparently and across a building’s life cycle,” said Ryan Colker, Executive Director, Energy, Resilience & Innovation for the Code Council. “This kind of cross-sector collaboration with ASHRAE is essential to accelerating the transition to a climate-resilient future.”
To view the draft of Standard 240P and participate in the public review process, visit osr.ashrae.org. To stay informed about all ASHRAE standards activities, including public review announcements, calls for members and more, sign up for Standards Actions at ashrae.org/StandardsActions.
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About ASHRAE
ASHRAE is an international society of more than 50,000 heating, refrigerating and air-conditioning professionals from over 132 nations dedicated to serving humanity and promoting a sustainable world.
Founded in 1894, ASHRAE is an industry leader in research, standards writing, publishing, certification and continuing education, ASHRAE its members are dedicated to promoting a healthy and sustainable built environment for all, through strategic partnerships with organizations in the HVAC&R community and across related industries.
The Society is showcasing integrated building solutions and sustainability in action through the opening of the ASHRAE Global Headquarters building in metro-Atlanta, Georgia.
For more information and to stay up-to-date on ASHRAE, visit ashrae.org and connect on Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook, X and YouTube.
About the International Code Council
The International Code Council is the leading global source of model codes and standards and building safety solutions. Code Council codes, standards and solutions are used to ensure safe, affordable and sustainable communities and buildings worldwide.