The buzz around building and being green is moving from informal water cooler chats to serious discussions with occupants of corner offices across the country. As you may already know, the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) is the guiding body behind the LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Green Building Rating System, a third-party certification program and the nationally (actually internationally, as there are LEED projects in more than 100 countries) accepted benchmark for design, construction, renovation, and operation of high-performance green structures in the built environment.
LEED offers building owners and operators concise guidelines for identifying and implementing practical, as well as measurable, green building design, construction, operations and maintenance solutions—all with an eye toward energy savings and sustainable building practices.
With nearly everyone seeing green, professionals from architects and engineers to interior designers are naturally being asked if they are a LEED Accredited Professional, or LEED AP. A USGBC’s Technical Workshop is the recognized standard for green building training and LEED rating system comprehension, and will qualify you to take the LEED AP test (professional experience in the sustainable industry or actual work on a LEED project are other options for qualification).
The USGBC recently revised its LEED AP certification and has established new levels of accreditation. As a result, there is now a shortened, two-hour test for "Green Associate," a new designation. In general, the Green Associate examination is ideal for salespersons and other team members—on either the client or consulting side—who need to be conversant in the LEED system, but are likely not responsible for a project’s templates, calculations and submittals. The newly revamped LEED AP exam, which consists of both the two-hour Green Associate test coupled with a two-hour LEED AP exam, is the way to go for professionals involved in actual design, specification, engineering and construction.
So, how do you pass the test?
1) Get the reference guides. First, purchase the "Green Building and LEED Core Concepts Guide" (visit www.usgbc.org for where to buy) to prepare for the Green Associate exam. It offers a general overview of sustainability, provides facts about the movement and lays the foundation for the five categories that govern the LEED point system: site, water, energy, materials, and indoor environment.
You’ll also need to buy the weighty Reference Guide (purchase the one designed for your track—new construction, interiors, or operations) if you are pursuing LEED AP status. It provides in-depth coverage of LEED intent, requirements and submittals for every LEED credit. I also recommend adopting your own LEED project and preparing the necessary documentation (templates, calculations and submittals), as a way to immerse yourself in a real-world example.
2) Get online. You’ll also want to become familiar with the USGBC website and its resources. Look for links there to study materials. There are also a wealth of LEED summaries available online. These abbreviated versions of the process will help you focus on the required facts and reference standards. Forums are also available online, with communities ready 24/7 to answer your queries. Of course, others opt for intensive offline study groups, or one-on-one coaching led by existing LEED APs.
3) Get ready. After you finish reading the Core Concepts and Reference Guide, start taking practice tests. Review the areas you missed and supplement your study in those areas. (Again, you might want to join a test-taking class or form your own study group.) You’ll find dozens of practice tests online—keep taking a variety of them until you start scoring at least an 80 percent. Then you are ready to take the plunge.
For more information on where and when to schedule the test, contact the Green Building Certification Institute, the testing and certification arm of the USGBC.
—Chuck Lohre, LEED AP, is a board member of the Cincinnati Regional Chapter of the USGBC and chair of its PR/Media Committee. He is also the founder of Green Cincinnati, an organization devoted to sustainable design and eco-education advocacy. Contact him at [email protected].
—Nielsen Business Media
