# LEED Accreditation – Fad or Necessity?



## 1SmartEngineer (Jun 27, 2009)

Is it really necessary to become a LEED accredited professional (LEED AP)? Can you design for sustainability without having LEED accreditation? Is this just another acronym to put on a business card? Or, as some suggest, is this a half hearted attempt by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) to exploit the demand for solutions to environmental issues and make some money along the way?.....

http://www.engineeringdaily.net/2009/06/is...ad-or-necessity


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## McEngr (Jun 27, 2009)

1SmartEngineer said:


> Is it really necessary to become a LEED accredited professional (LEED AP)? Can you design for sustainability without having LEED accreditation? Is this just another acronym to put on a business card? Or, as some suggest, is this a half hearted attempt by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) to exploit the demand for solutions to environmental issues and make some money along the way?.....
> http://www.engineeringdaily.net/2009/06/is...ad-or-necessity


1smartengineer,

I'm not a LEED AP yet, but I'm kind of in the "herd" if you will. I don't mean to sound like a tree hugger, but I think it's a good way to show that you care, but not enough to get you hired. It's kind of like saying that I'm a member of ASCE. Does anyone care about that in an interview? Not sure, but it looks good.

Just my $0.02


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## RIP - VTEnviro (Jun 27, 2009)

I'm a LEED AP, but don't necessarily agree with all their points. Hell, I don't even recycle. But it's a nice feather in your cap at a job interview, because more states as well as the feds are trying to go green and smart development with their projects.

I've had to think LEED on projects that don't even fit the criteria for a LEED project, because it's the prevailing set of standards.


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## maryannette (Jun 27, 2009)

But, you can design a LEED certified building without being a LEED AP.


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## wilheldp_PE (Jun 27, 2009)

1SmartEngineer said:


> Or, as some suggest, is this a half hearted attempt by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) to exploit the demand for solutions to environmental issues and make some money along the way?.....


No, it's a whole-hearted attempt. The only reason I got the LEED AP certification is that my firm is really big on sustainable design, and pretty much requires all design professionals to be LEED APs. We currently have 46 on staff out of a firm of about 80 people. Just that fact alone has gotten us a lot of work from the state and local government since Kentucky has decreed that all new government funded buildings have to be LEED Silver or better.


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## Guest (Jun 28, 2009)

wilheldp_PE said:


> Just that fact alone has gotten us a lot of work from the state and local government since Kentucky has decreed that all new government funded buildings have to be LEED Silver or better.


Couple that with the fact that the new climate change bill is pushing for energy conservation measures via engineering for buildings and that codes are being updated to reflect the same, I believe it also has some merit.

How does that play out in obtaining LEED Certification? Only time and the market will tell ...

JR


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## pugsx (Jul 16, 2009)

Fad! hahaha I only got certified coz my company was pushing people to do so. Now they can boast that they have 280+ LEED AP employees. I don't doubt its a good thing to have to your resume though.


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## pavell (Jul 27, 2009)

I was thinking about taking the LEED test as this is the last time you can take for v2.2 I believe right?


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## wilheldp_PE (Jul 27, 2009)

pavell said:


> I was thinking about taking the LEED test as this is the last time you can take for v2.2 I believe right?


That time is passed. The end of June was the last time that you could take the v2.2 exam, but you had to have been signed up for it by the end of February or March, I believe. Everything is on LEED 2009 now, and it's quite different.


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## picusld (Aug 14, 2009)

Fad.

These accredidation groups have one heck of a business going. My boss was looking into the CPSEQ certification and it costs somewhere around 1k a year to renew! That is significantly more than the PE license renewal and what does it really get you?


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## justin-hawaii (Sep 23, 2009)

LEED AP is a necessity in the consulting business. I am pretty sure most federal contracts require the consulting team to have a LEED AP and most states are following, Hawaii including.

I work for a MEP consulting firm and I know that our firm was passed up on a job because we did not have an Electrical Engineer that had a PE and a LEED accreditation.


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