Greenbuild 2009 Offers LEED Professionals Numerous Opportunities for Green Building Education and Credentialing Maintenance

New this year: Professionals can take their LEED credentialing exam during the show

Washington, D.C. – Nov. 2 — Green building professionals seeking to earn or maintain the LEED AP or LEED Green Associate credentials will have many opportunities to do so Nov. 11-13 at Greenbuild 2009, the Green Building Certification Institute (GBCI) has announced. GBCI administers the LEED Professional Credentials, including the exams and credentialing maintenance, both of which will be available at Greenbuild, the U.S. Green Building Council's annual conference and expo being held this year in Phoenix, Ariz.

The show offers attendees several types of career development activities, including opportunities to prepare for or take a LEED professional exam, and to attend educational sessions and events to earn credits toward maintaining LEED credentials and other industry certifications.

“Green building professionals go to Greenbuild every year to expand their knowledge, connect with their peers and find the resources they need to grow their business or practice,” said Peter Templeton, President, GBCI.   “The unmatched access to continuing education opportunities makes attending this year's conference more valuable than ever to LEED Professionals.”

The LEED Green Associate and LEED AP specialty exams will be offered locally during the show to eligible candidates. Testing is available for the following LEED AP specialty credentials: Building Design + Construction (BD+C), Interior Design + Construction (ID+C), Operations + Maintenance (O+M), and Homes.   If you have met eligibility requirements and your application has been processed you will be able to schedule your LEED professional exam in Phoenix before, during, or after the conference.   Find times and locations online at www.prometric.com/gbci.

In addition, all Greenbuild 2009 education sessions, workshops ,and tours offered throughout the show will satisfy GBCI's Credentialing Maintenance Program (CMP) requirements for LEED APs and LEED Green Associates.   Current LEED APs must enroll in CMP at www.gbci.org by Dec. 31, 2009, to earn GBCI continuing education (CE) hours for attending qualifying programs   at Greenbuild in Phoenix.   Enrolling in CMP by this date also guarantees that approved courses and activities completed since July 8, 2009, will count toward credentialing maintenance.

LEED Professionals will also be able to record their CE hours using GBCI's new online tool, scheduled to launch at www.gbci.org on Nov. 3.     This new online reporting tool will help LEED Professionals keep track of their credentialing maintenance activities.

As LEED APs and LEED Green Associates work to maintain their credentials at Greenbuild, there are a host of other industry credentials whose continuing education requirements can also be fulfilled while at the conference, including AIA, APA, ASLA, BOMI, CoreNet Global, CSI, IFMA, and IIDA. To learn more about Greenbuild, visit www.greenbuildexpo.org.

About GBCI
The Green Building Certification Institute (GBCI) provides third party confirmation that specific criteria related to LEED building certification and LEED professional credentialing continues to be developed in accordance with best practices for credentialing and certification programs. To underscore this commitment, GBCI is undergoing the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) accreditation process for personnel certification agencies complying with International Organization for Standardization (ISO) Standard 17024. Early in 2009, GBCI assumed responsibility for administering the LEED building certification program for the more than 30,000 commercial projects seeking third-party verification of compliance with the industry’s leading green building rating system. For more information, please visit www.gbci.org.