There was a recent post on the Freakonomics blog http://freakonomics.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/07/27/do-building-codes-actually-save-energy/ about a study on the influence of building codes on energy use patterns in buildings. The abstract of the study stated that stricter energy codes have had an appreciable impact on reducing energy use.
In some respects, this conclusion is obvious and points to the social benefits of building codes. Adam Smith weighed in on this topic over two hundred years ago. From the point of view of an architect who is interested in sustainability the most important issue is that the codes that deal directly with energy use be updated frequently to reflect the growing improvements in building technology. I would also argue that codes have the positive effect of spurring innovation so that the baseline for energy efficiency and architectural quality is encouraged to move steadily upwards over time.
Enforcement issues for energy codes can be more challenging than life/safety concerns, but the primary enforcement mechanism is the code itself, which takes advantage of the propensity of designers, manufacturers and builders to follow rules rather than risk the consequences of breaking them.
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