Green Associate

Not sure where to start with your LEED Accreditation? Green Associate is the first tier of LEED Accreditation, and is the ideal place to start no matter what your experience with LEED is. A Green Associate has the ability to demonstrate LEED certification expertise, such as knowledge of green design, construction and operations. This foundational knowledge paves the way for Green Associates who wish to specialize and take an AP (Accredited Professional) exam. This allows for more technical training that may cater to one’s career goals.  For those who wish to stay a Green Associate, opportunities are also bountiful.  Many Green Associates choose to consult on LEED projects or act as the project manager who makes sure that all aspects of LEED standards are underway, whether it is the building’s HVAC system or plumbing.

Everblue Training Institute takes students step by step through all the LEED certification standards. These standards pertain to all aspects of a building’s sustainability, which give an understanding of how all systems of a building work together to be overall significantly more sustainable than the average structure.  These array of topics are vital for Green Associate.  Whether you are an architect, engineer or just looking for a career change, Everblue Training Institute makes LEED easy to digest, applicable to all professional backgrounds and most importantly- engaging! Get everything you need to pass with Everblue, and be part of the +90% of their students who pass on their first attempt!

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!