Findings on changing risk and building codes

Building code developers/researchers from Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United States have launched the Global Resiliency Dialogue, a joint initiative to inform the development of building codes that draw on both building science and climate science to improve the resilience of buildings and communities to intensifying risks from weather-related natural hazards.

The Findings on Changing Risk and Building Codes statement outlines the work to be undertaken by the members of the Global Resiliency Dialogue, including:

• Identifying strategies for the identification of future risks and the development of building code solutions that support adaptation to those risks.
• Cooperating on the development of international building resilience guidelines and further exploration of the relationship with land use planning instruments that help determine the location of buildings.
• Supporting research initiatives to better understand climate science, to assist in aligning expectations for building durability and resilience with the projection of future hazards.
• Developing and deploying messages and resources that enhance understanding of building codes, support a common understanding of risk, and communicate the importance of up-to-date building codes.
• Advancing risk and impact analysis to recognize the multiple economic and social benefits provided by resilience investments and the desirability of alternative approaches that fully capture the benefits and costs provided by the building codes.