Green Associate

Nine months into the transition from LEED v2.2 to LEED v3.0, it amazes me how much of a brand name LEED AP has become.  It’s what people search for, it is an industry brand name.  The LEED Green Associate is growing but with 1/20^th the number of LEED APs, it has a long way to go to achieve it’s own brand awareness.  I personally think the USGBC should have made LEED AP the base tier and added a LEED Specialty Professional above the LEED AP.  That would have kept the LEED AP brand name and allowed the 120,000 legacy LEED APs the chance to truly upgrade their credentials – will any legacy LEED APs really take the LEED Green Associate? Probably not.

What’s done is done though.  The LEED Green Associate and LEED AP Specialty exams really is a better system.  People learn core green building concepts and LEED project process first before diving into the technical standards of a LEED rating system.  For most people, the LEED Green Associate satisfies their professional needs.  It is a national credential, it provides a conversational understanding of LEED, and it is simply a better exam.  It tests concepts and terminology vs arguably useless memorization or facts and figures that the previous exams tested.  In fact, I’m willing to bet that 90% of the currently 6000 LEED Green Associates will stop right there and never make it to a LEED AP Specialty.

So back to the branding issue.  Do you really need LEED AP?  I know that’s what most people look for but if you’re not actively involved in the design & construction of a LEED project as an Architect, Engineer, or Contractor you probably don’t need the LEED AP specialty credential.  If you just had LEED GA in your signature block, how many people would really know the difference between LEED GA and LEED AP?

Learn more about the LEED Green Associate credential by registering for an exam prep course. Take the exam and feel confident about your new knowledge of green building concepts!

Accreditation for the LEED Green Associate

If you are thinking that you want to pursue a career in any type of construction, then you are going to have to address the issue of sustainability. Green technology is becoming more mainstream. It is part of the construction industry, and it is not going away. A good place to get familiar with sustainability and construction is to become a LEED Green Associate.

LEED certification is evolving into a worldwide standard as a way to measure how well a project meets sustainability goals. So if you were planning a future in construction, the affiliating with the LEED program sooner rather than later would be well to your advantage.

The Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) designation has just gone through a complete restructuring in order to position itself to be able to keep up with the lightening fast changes that are happening in the field of sustainability.

What used to be a single designation has now evolved into three tiers of expertise. The first level is the LEED Green Associate who is expected to have broad knowledge about sustainable construction design and operations. The second level breaks out into five specialties, and at this level the LEED AP+ is expected to have a deeper understanding of green building practices as they pertain to his specialty. And the third level of expertise the LEED Fellow, which has not yet been fully defined, will be the most elite and they will shape the direction and application of the LEED system, the sustainable building industry, and new green technologies.

LEED Green Associate Perfect for Just Starting Out

If you are just starting out, then the LEED Green Associate is a great credential to have because the knowledge that you will acquire for this rating is easily translated into just about any area of your life. The LEED Green Associate does not require continuing education, which is another reason that it is a good place to begin, because you can get started without being buried under ongoing obligations.

Then if your career directs you into an area where you will now need to use more in-depth information to do your job, it will be time to study for the LEED AP+ designation. So before you jump in to the LEED credential process, take a minute and think about how you will be using your new professional designation.

Before you even get started with your LEED Green Associate plans there are certain criteria that you must meet. For example, you must be able to prove that you have been professionally involved in a LEED certified project some time in the last three years. If you have not been recently involved in this type of project, then you can also make a case if you have been professionally involved with a business involved in green building.

In the absence of either of these two types of experience, you can attest to being enrolled or having completed a class that has anything to do with sustainable construction. You will need documented proof from an employer or teacher, and once this prerequisite is met, you are ready to begin preparing for your exam. You can study by yourself, online, in a classroom setting, or do a combination. There are industry approved LEED training providers like Everblue Training Institute that offer materials to suit any students study needs.

So if you are planning to go after a career in construction, it is probably a good idea to begin your accreditation process so that you can add LEED Green Associate to you list of job qualifications.