In December 2020, the National Institute of Building Sciences (NIBS) held a social equity roundtable with over two dozen organizations representing the built environment. This conversation resulted in a recommendation to advance the work on this issue, including obtaining consistent research from across the many sectors of the built environment.

NIBS serves as the unbiased forum for discussing issues and identifying opportunities within the building community. The NIBS Consultative Council assembles high-level building community representatives to make collective recommendations directly to policymakers to improve our nation’s buildings and infrastructure.

When adopted by jurisdictions, codes and standards represent the community’s expectations for the protection of the health, safety and welfare of its citizens. Such codes and standards are developed and then adopted through a series of actions that assure engagement from all relevant stakeholders. This engagement along with effective adoption and enforcement ensures that the codes and standards are followed and community expectations are met.

Fresh water is a finite, essential resource. The Environmental Protection Agency reports that 36 states expect to experience local, regional or statewide water shortages by 20131. As the population grows and moves, especially to areas of water scarcity and declining water quality, the nation needs to understand the importance of using this most precious resource as efficiently as possible. To ensure our citizens can continue to access safe, clean water in buildings all across the country, the United States must establish a national water strategy—of which the most cost-effective component should be to reduce the amount of water being consumed.

Each year, the Council develops a Moving Forward Report, which becomes part of the Institute’s Annual Report that goes to the President of the United States and the U.S. Congress. In the 2018 report, the Council addresses ways to improve the performance of the nation’s existing building stock. The report is intended to be a starting point for a much broader dialogue across the building industry and with policymakers, and offers a number of recommendations to move forward.