Data shows that green building
continues to grow faster than any other segment of the U.S. construction market.
That fact has made becoming credentialed as a capable and knowledgeable green
professional a hot topic.
Based on economic projections
for green building to continue growing as a percentage of overall construction,
it makes sense for distributors to consider adding LEED credentialed members
to their own sales teams. But where to start?
The Green Building Certification
Institute (GBCI) is working to answer the growing need for standardized LEED
training. GBCI was formed in order to administer certification and credentialing
programs related to green building practice. It is GBCI that is working to ensure
that the LEED Accredited Professional (LEED AP) program represents a high level
credentialing program.
In addition, last year GBCI
assumed the responsibility for administering the LEED building certification
program for more than 20,000 commercial projects that are seeking verification
with the leading green building rating system.
In May 2009, GBCI began
testing candidates who wish to pursue the new LEED Green Associate credential,
or the new LEED Accredited Professional (AP) Operations and Maintenance (O+M)
credential.
Peter Templeton, president
of GBCI explained the impact these trained professionals are having. “LEED APs
have become a force for change in the building industry. The new LEED Green
Associate credential will recognize professionals who possess the core green
building knowledge to help bring about market transformation in related disciplines
in the workforce.”
Candidates for the new LEED
AP O+M credential follow a two-part process with the candidate required to first
pass the LEED Green Associate exam as part one to demonstrate general knowledge,
and then pass a second exam covering operations and maintenance specializations.
“This highly specialized
credential brings with it a tremendous value at a time when retrofitting our
existing building stock is critical to addressing energy dependence and climate
change,” said Templeton. Further information is available at www.gbci.org.
Zach Rose, the CEO of Green
Education Services, and himself a LEED AP, LEED Green Associate, is another
leader who is working to prepare the architectural, design, engineering and
construction fields with well-trained LEED credentialed professionals.
Rose explains some key points about LEED credentialing in his article, “How
To: Become a LEED AP with a Specialization in Building Design and Construction”
which is posted on the Green Education Services website: www.GreenEdu.com.
Step one to becoming LEED Accredited Professional
(AP) is to first become a LEED Green Associate. Candidates wishing to move beyond
the Green Associate level are those who will be directly involved with the design,
construction or certification process of a green building.
Ideal backgrounds for LEED AP+ candidates
would include:
- Architects
- Engineers
- Contractors
- Developers
- Interior Designers
- Landscape Architects
- Facility Managers
- Energy Raters
One important benefit of reaching the AP
level (Tier 2) is that APs working on a registered project will gain that specific
project one point toward certification. A team needs to collect the remaining
39 points by demonstrating the sustainable features within the building. Candidates
wishing to become a LEED AP must not only demonstrate Green Associate Status,
but they must also confirm that they have project experience working on at least
one LEED registered project. That’s right - the project must have been registered
(not necessarily certified), and your last date of involvement needs to have
taken place within the past three years prior to applying for an exam appointment.
Once the Green Building Certification Institute
(GBCI) approves your application, you can select an appointment at a local Prometric testing center.As
long as candidates have LEED project experience, they can schedule an appointment
to sit for both GA as well as the AP exam at the same time. If a candidate fails
either portion, they will not obtain any credential, but will only be required
to retake the portion that was failed at a later date. If you do not
have LEED project experience, you’ll have to start just by taking the
Green Associate exam, and take the BD+C exam at a later date once you have gained
the required experience.
At the AP level, candidates will decide which
specialization they want to test under. At the GA level, candidates were not
expected to specialize in a rating system, and were tested on general LEED concepts.
Rating systems include Building Design and Construction (BD+C), Interior Design
and Construction (ID+C), Homes, Operations and Maintenance (O+M), and Neighborhood
Development (ND). ND is still a pilot program and won’t be a testing option
until later in 2010.
The most common specialization is LEED BD+C.
This LEED rating system is for new construction and major renovations of commercial,
institutional, and high-rise (4 or more stories) residential buildings. Within
BD+C, candidates will be expected to understand the difference between the scopes
of three sub-categories. These include LEED for Schools, LEED for New Construction,
and LEED for Core and Shell.
According to the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) there are currently over
120,000 existing LEED Accredited Professionals nationally. If your company has
yet to add one or more LEED APs to your team, maybe you should consider finding
that staffer who is passionate about green building and energy efficiency and
suggesting a company-paid career training program. By implementing a training
agreement, the motivated sales person gets to enhance their career and their
value to your company, while your team acquires a LEED accredited key to increasing
your future green business.