LEED:
The Green Building Market Standard
Green Building Market
Where Does LEED and the USGBC fit in?
With the exploding growth of the green building industry, there is an increasing demand for structured, hands-on green experiential and educational programs. Specifically experiences focused on the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED Rating Systems (the country’s premier green building certification system), as professionals and students seek to hone their skills and enter this emerging economy. Currently, LEED opportunities are very limited, as typical LEED projects are high-profile commercial or government developments, requiring years of experience to be involved -- thereby, excluding students, recent graduates, unemployed professionals, or those changing careers. This lack of accessibility begs the question -- how does one gain experience without having access to LEED registered project opportunities? Recognizing this void of entry-level resources, the BOULD team has developed the HabitatPro program, specifically for Habitat for Humanity affiliates to effectively capture this demand and simultaneously make a difference for both Habitat partner families and their local professional communities.
Transformative Change: Green Building
The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) is a Washington D.C. based 501-C(3) nonprofit organization committed to a prosperous and sustainable future for our nation through cost- efficient and energy saving green buildings. The USGBC works toward its mission of market transformation through its LEED green building certification program, robust educational offerings, and a nationwide network of chapters and affiliates.
The LEED green building certification program is a voluntary, consensus based national rating system for buildings designed, constructed, and operated for improved environmental and human health performance. LEED addresses all building types and emphasizes state-of-the-art strategies in five areas: sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency, materials and resources selection and indoor environmental quality.
Professional Interest: LEED Accreditation
In addition to the LEED Certification system for buildings, the USGBC also oversees an opportunity for professionals to become accredited via a LEED Professional credential. LEED Accreditation provides employers, policy makers, and other stakeholders with assurance of an individual’s level of competence and is the mark of the most qualified, educated, and influential green building professionals in the marketplace. LEED professional credentials demonstrate current knowledge of green building technologies, best practices and the rapidly evolving LEED Rating system.
LEED Accreditation Exam Prerequisite
To obtain this highly valued distinction, potential candidates must first demonstrate significant personal involvement with a LEED registered project before being qualified to enroll in a LEED Professional exam. Currently this prerequisite prevents a significant portion of interested professionals from furthering their development due to the lack of aforementioned project experience opportunities. Recognizing this crucial need, BOULD collaborates with affordable housing builders to provide structured project experience opportunities on affordably built LEED projects to qualify industry professionals for the LEED Accreditation exams.
LEED Professional Accreditation
The Premier Mark of Excellence for Professionals within the Green Building Industry.
With the exploding growth of the green building industry, there is an increasing need for professionals to learn and adapt to these sustainability driven thought processes and methodologies, especially as consumer demand increases and climate concerns rise. The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) is at the forefront of this market shift and has organized holistic green building systems to address the aforementioned issues via their LEED Certification and Accreditation systems (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design). LEED Certification is concerned with the design and construction of buildings and homes, while LEED Accreditation is a credentialing system for professionals seeking to objectively convey knowledge of green building policies and practices.
LEED Accreditation provides employers, policy makers, and other stakeholders with assurance of an individual's level of competence and is the mark of the most qualified, educated, and influential green building professionals in the marketplace. LEED Professional credentials demonstrate current knowledge of green building technologies, best practices, and the rapidly evolving LEED Rating System.
Currently, there are six types of LEED Professional credentials available:
To obtain a valued credential and differentiating distinction, potential candidates are required to satisfy two prerequisites before joining the growing community of 168,000 LEED Professionals.
1) Demonstrate significant personal involvement with a LEED registered project, formally referred to as LEED Project Experience.
2) Then, enroll and pass a LEED Professional exam.
The LEED Project Experience requirement is a barrier for many, as entry level access to LEED projects is often difficult to find. Therefore, BOULD has devised a solution and collaborates with local affordable housing builders to provide structured LEED project experience opportunities to qualify industry professionals for the LEED Professional exams.
LEED Green Building Certification
Habitat founder, Millard Fuller’s bold vision of community partnership has revolutionized affordable housing to be a catalyst for positive social transformation over the last 30 years. Today, while the Habitat mission remains constant, society’s attitudes and preferences have continued to evolve and Habitat affiliates are in an incredible position to embrace the growing green building movement and spark it for positive community development and maximum partner family impact.
Residential sustainable building is a tranformative thought process -- focusing specifically on building smarter and more efficient homes. This shift in mentality is becoming increasingly important for Habitat for Humanity affiliates to consider in order to ensure the construction of the highest quality, long term performance orientated homes for partner families.
LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) an internationally recognized green building certification system rapidly becoming the benchmark standard of sustainable building best practice. The value of the LEED rating system stems from its open, consensus based process led by LEED committees, diverse groups of volunteers all representing a cross- section of the building and construction industry. The governing body behind LEED, the USGBC (U.S. Green Building Council) is a non profit community of leaders working to make green building available to everyone within one generation.
LEED Certification provides an overall platform for the creation and verification of a home’s performance. Homes that are LEED certified attain a superior level of energy and resource efficiency and create a healthier living environment for its occupants as well. LEED certified homes on average have energy consumption levels of 30% less than homes built to the National Energy Code.
Sustainable Site Selection
responsibly designed and installed landscaping components for water and cost savings, effective site management during construction
Water Efficiency
high efficiency indoor and outdoor use for minimal cost and homeowner output
Energy and Atmosphere
measures to increase energy performance of the home. Lowering of temperature elasticity of the home, increased comfort, and lower utility bills
Materials and Resources
encouragement of healthy product selection, resource efficiency and mitigation of construction waste costs
Indoor Environmental Quality
eliminating poisons and harmful in-home substances, healthy air quality measures
Location and Linkages
positioning near public transportation and community resources to lower living costs, locating homes near parks and open spaces to encourage recreation and health
Our Triple Bottom Line
Healthy, Comfortable Families
- Elimination of allergens, mitigation of for asthma triggers.
- Use of non toxic materials that lower exposure to mold and mildew.
- Thoughtfully designed to eliminate uncomfortable rooms.
Affordable, Cost Effective Living
- Durable structures with less maintenance.
- Reduced electricity, gas, and water bills.
- Lower heating bills by up to 51%.
- Potential insurance discounts.
- Possible building permit incentives.
- Third-party testing to ensure proper install.
Environmentally Responsible
- Reduce the impact of construction.
- Waste diversion from landfills.
- Use materials more efficiently for cheap construction costs.
- Use less energy, reducing pollution from fossil fuels.
