LEED Green Associate training begins

My training to become a LEED Green Associate began today. The 1st session of a 3-part LEED Green Associate Exam Prep Training course was attended by nearly 60 trainees. This post summarizes who attends LEED training, what’s taught, and by whom.

Energy Efficiency now balanced with sustainability
The first topic confirmed that the Green Building Certification process is now requiring tracking of energy usage in LEED certified buildings (after they’ve been certified) to monitor whether the buildings are truly efficient. Also the rating systems to certify buildings (see below) now give more points to energy efficiency elements. I’m glad to see these important steps forward that emphasize energy efficiency or at least balance energy efficiency with sustainable construction.

LEED stands for the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System developed by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC).

Trainees: Who attends LEED training?
Twenty percent of the trainees in this course are general contractors or project managers for general contractors. Ten percent are designers including electrical design and interior design. Five are environmental consultants or indoor air quality professionals, and another five are architects or planners. Mechanical engineers, research consultants, job seekers transitioning to energy efficiency or sustainability, and students comprised the remaining trainees.

Content: Session 1 provides an overview of:
1. LEED rating systems and point credit categories.

All the rating systems use the same six credit categories to score points: sustainable sites, water efficiency, energy & atmosphere, materials & resources, indoor environmental quality and innovation & design process. The total credit point score determines whether a building receives the Platinum, Gold or Silver certification.

The LEED credential tiers were reorganized in 2009 into LEED v3. The specific LEED rating systems which focus on the type of design (commercial new construction, existing building operation and maintenance, schools, homes) were also reorganized and more rating systems are now being refined for neighborhood development, retail, and other types of buildings.

2. LEED registration and certification processes.
Overview of the structure of the Green Building Council (USGBC) versus the Green Building Certification Institute (GBCI). The trainers spent nearly 1/3 of the class time on this. Seems like a good indication that the registration and certification processes could be streamlined so they’re easier to understand.

3. Cost assessment tools to evaluate sustainable strategies.

4. Design processes useful for implementing the LEED program requirements.

Trainers: Why NEXUS at the Boston’s USGBC chapter?
The exam prep training is available through many sources including NEXUS which is Boston’s chapter of US Green Building Council (USGBC), community colleges and private training facilities. I elected to take my LEED Green Associate training at NEXUS because I’m a member and want to support the organization. Plus it’s a great reason to re-visit the excellent educational displays at NEXUS and use their online resources for researching building materials and providers that increase energy efficiency and improve indoor air quality.