Green Associate

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.