Hemp Building Institute to Take on Codes, Testing and Education, Founder Says

*Jacob Waddell, founder of the new Hemp Building Institute, based in Nashville, TN. Photo courtesy HBI*

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By Jean Lotus

A new hemp building organization launched its website this week with a familiar face in a central leadership role. Jacob Waddell, who served as executive director of the US Hemp Building Association until summer, 2022, announced a new non-profit, The Hemp Building Institute, based in Nashville, TN.

The goal of the institute will be to raise money to create codes and standards, perform necessary testing for the industry, and educate the public on the uses of hemp building materials, Waddell said. The HBI will also consult in Kenya to build the new hemp-building industry there, he said.

The new organization will continue some of the work on hemp building materials standards begun by the USHBA, specifically to finish work to complete the “commentary” section of the International Residential Code for hemp-lime as a wall infill insulation material.
Waddell and members of the USHBA were able to acquire acceptance from the International Commercial Code for hemp-lime into US residential building codes under an appendix to the IRC for the new code to be released in 2024.

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‘The next step for hemp-lime in US building codes would be acceptance into the International Building Code (IBC) that accepts new petitions in 2025.

“We think we might have a simple way of getting into the International Building Code, which would reference the International Residential Code and simplify the process a great deal,” Waddell told HempBuild Mag.

The Hemp Building Institute will also raise money to organize testing of hemp building materials according to ASTM standards, specifically for fire-resistance (ASTM E-119). Another project will be performing R-Value testing following a proposed ASTM standard for hempcrete samples made by Pennsylvania-based Americhanvre Cast Hemp.

Some of these tests can cost between $35,000 to $50,000, he said. Waddell said the organization plans to crowdfund these projects, and donations are tax-deductible.

“In the end, the goal is to be able to have a standard process that new products in the market can follow to get acceptance,” Waddell said.

The new organization also has an educational mission, including planning an event that shows “the opportunity [people] have both to use these materials in their lives, and to support the cause of moving them forward, “ Waddell said.

The motto of the organization: “We help environmentally conscious consumers to invest in the future of the planet by supporting the creation of better building practices.”

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In addition, Waddell will be acting as a consultant for the Savor the World Foundation a woman-led organization that works to “bring equity and inclusion to the African diaspora by way of cannabis,” according to the organization’s website. As Kenya legalizes industrial hemp, the group will work with the Department of Agriculture to bring understanding of hemp building materials to Kenya, Waddell said.

‘Cooperation key to success’

Waddell said even though he no longer works for USHBA, his goal was to work cooperatively with the trade association going forward.

“The US Hemp Building Association is a trade association that can harness the power of the collective to represent the hemp building industry and use the input from its members to help guide activities to progress the industry,” he said in an email. “The Hemp Building Institute is a non-membership based non-profit that can focus on executing specific objectives both domestically and internationally to move the hemp building industry forward.”

“Cooperation has been and remains the key to success and advancement of this industry,” he added.

“As the incoming president of USHBA, I look forward to continuing the momentum Jacob helped establish in the industry,” said Ray Kaderli, USHBA board president, in a message. “HBI’s specific areas of focus will be a great resource in collaboration with the overarching focus of USHBA. The Hemp Building Institute will be an ally working toward our mutual goals to gain wide commercial acceptance of hemp building materials in the United States,” Kaderli continued.

Other leaders in the hemp building space praised Waddell and said they looked forward to working together.

“Furthering education and research about hemp building in the United States is among the most important developments for hemp use in the United States,” said Mandi Kerr, executive director of non-profit Friends of Hemp, affiliated with the Utah-based Global Hemp Association. “Sustainable building practices can help in so many areas that need housing and other buildings,” Kerr said in a statement.

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Steve Allin, director of the Ireland-based International Hemp Building Association praised Waddell’s efforts to move hemp building materials forward.

“Jacob Waddell led the inclusion of hemp building materials to be accepted in US building codes as the director of the USHBA, with a clear and focussed attention to detail and an understanding of how these descriptions need to be broadened and enlarged into the future,” Allin said in a press release. We look forward to working with him and others in Europe and elsewhere to create what could become the first internationally accepted range of standards for this important group of materials.”

Waddell told HempBuild Mag that international interest in hemp building materials is expanding, especially as a “true discussion of affordable housing,” which has been ”a big dream of a lot of people.”

In the United States, too, Waddell said industrial hemp is building on opportunities from the federal and local governments in both current and proposed legislation.

“There’s potential with trying to Build Back Better and to create lower impact buildings,” Waddell said.

“If we can do our part as an industry to provide quality products, this is just the beginning,” he added.