Washington State Building Codes

Join us in supporting the Washington State Building Codes Council in adopting strong standards that set up our communities for a healthier future. 

Dear Members of the Washington State Building Code Council,

I’m writing to urge you to approve the proposed updates to the Washington State commercial energy code to require that new commercial buildings be built with clean electric heat pumps and heat pump water heaters instead of dangerous and polluting gas appliances. My community will benefit from cleaner and more efficient buildings, ones that rely less on fracked fuels for heating and cooling.

Communities throughout our region have faced dramatic impacts from chaotic shifts in our climate in recent years, including droughts, floods, and tremendous heat waves. We were all shocked by wildfires that caused displacement and serious health impacts in many of our communities. Cleaner buildings have a big role to play in averting the health impacts of burning fossil fuels, like air pollution and heat stress. A recent Harvard study showed that in Washington, burning fossil fuels in commercial buildings was responsible for over $110 million in health impacts from outdoor air pollution in 2017 alone. Another study found that children in homes with gas stoves have a 42% higher risk of developing asthmatic symptoms. 

We know that Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC) and low-income communities are disproportionately impacted by air pollution and the resulting health effects, so continuing to allow new buildings to burn fossil fuels is not only a climate justice issue, but one of racial and economic justice as well.

The proposed code updates ensure that, as we continue to construct large new buildings, we are doing so in a manner that is equitable and sustainable.

I urge you to support the proposed code updates. 

Thank you.

Signed,

Background information

Let’s shift Columbia River communities in a cleaner, more equitable direction. Join us in supporting updates to commercial building codes requiring new commercial buildings to be built with clean electric heat pumps and heat pump water heaters instead of dangerous and polluting gas appliances.