If you are in any part involved in sustainable building or community development in the USA, you've probably heard something about LEED.
LEED is part of the U.S. Green Building Council, an internationally recognized green building certification system, which helps to ensure that 'green building' (commercial or residential) or a community is actually 'green' by providing a third party assessment of the development and a certification. LEED more specifically helps give credit to design and development that is working towards "improving performance across all the metrics that matter most: energy savings, water efficiency, CO2 emissions reduction, improved indoor environmental quality, and stewardship of resources and sensitivity to their impacts" (as quoted from the LEED website).
As I carve out a career in sustainable community development, I see the LEED certification as an essential educational process to explore and a smart tool to possess for proactive planning and consulting. I'm interested to find out how easy it is to get this certification and wondering what other benefits having a LEED certificate provide, like networking with communities, organizations and businesses using LEED or moving in the direction towards more progressive and assured sustainable development.
Central questions:
What does LEED do? It helps measure
One may become a LEED Green Associate or possess other LEED Professional Credentials (LEED APs) by taking the LEED Exam. If you are interested visit the LEED Professional Credentials page and download the Study Guide for the exam. But first, visit the GBCI Candidate handbook to check out what type of credential you are seeking.
You can check out what type of LEED certifications may be right for you...
A side note- the Green Building Certification Institute is looking for volunteers. Your help may be counted as hours towards a certification!
