Habitat for Humanity volunteers Make the most out of the LEED continuing education requirements by participating in education and other activities that will not only fulfill your CMP requirements, but also further your career and boost your business.
The following are 5 examples of continuing education activities that work double-duty to help you accomplish both:
The following are 5 examples of continuing education activities that work double-duty to help you accomplish both:
1) Publish Articles about LEED or Green Building
One of the best ways to learn is by teaching or writing. GBCI encourages you to write about what you know, and become published, so that you can help others learn from your expertise. Your peers in the industry (including potentials employers and clients) will also be able to search your name and find your green building articles, or read your articles and become interested in following your work. Some websites will publish your articles for free and each original article is worth three CE hours with GBCI! Poplar Network and Green-Buildings.com offer free publishing for LEED CMP.
2) Work on a LEED Registered Project
Working on a LEED registered project is the "Holy Grail" of continuing education for LEED. Not only can you earn continuing education hours, but also you can learn a lot and it may even help improve your resume. You may need to volunteer, for instance you can find local Habitat for Humanity groups that are working on LEED projects, such as homes, while giving you a better understanding of the LEED process. If you don’t have the chance to work on a project through a local opportunity, you can work online through the four week GreenStep LEED Project Experience Program. Some chapters, such as USGBC Northern California, USGBC Los Angeles and USGBC Orange County Chapter, offer their members discounts on the program. It qualifies for 5 LEED-specific and 5 general continuing education hours.
3) Volunteer with Your Local USGBC Chapter
The vast majority of USGBC chapters are run by volunteers. Even the largest chapters, such as Urban Green Council and USGBC Northern California rely on volunteers to keep their chapters running properly, as well as maintain committees, run local events, etc. Volunteering with your local USGBC chapter (or serving in a leadership role) is a great way to earn your hours while networking with local green builders and green professionals. To find and join your local chapter, go to USGBC’s chapter finder.
4) Take a Class that Teaches a Valuable Skill
What is your professional specialty? There are hundreds, if not thousands, of options for green building education, so you shouldn’t waste your time or money on courses that have no application to your career. Spend some time searching for ones that will fit your career goals and needs.
For example, if you perform energy efficient retrofits in commercial buildings, this 179D Tax Incentives course could help you decipher what type of projects are eligible for tax incentives and how you can become a part of them (or advise them on the tax code). If you are an interior designer, architect or engineer that designs buildings, you may want to take a class in tubular skylighting so you can catch up to speed on the technology.
These are just a couple of examples. To find courses like these that match your interests and profession, search the USGBC courses database for those keywords.
For example, if you perform energy efficient retrofits in commercial buildings, this 179D Tax Incentives course could help you decipher what type of projects are eligible for tax incentives and how you can become a part of them (or advise them on the tax code). If you are an interior designer, architect or engineer that designs buildings, you may want to take a class in tubular skylighting so you can catch up to speed on the technology.
These are just a couple of examples. To find courses like these that match your interests and profession, search the USGBC courses database for those keywords.
5) Go to Greenbuild
Greenbuild, held by the USGBC (the creators of LEED), is the largest annual green building conference and expo in the world.
Last year’s conference, held in San Francisco, had over 30,000 attendees and over 900 exhibitors, so it’s a hot spot for networking in the industry. This year, the conference will be held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania from November 20th to 22nd.
The keynote speaker will be former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and Bon Jovi will be performing, so it’s sure to draw a large crowd once again. Networking opportunities will be extremely plentiful with this big an audience - not only can you meet other professionals at the expo, but you can also meet them in education sessions or at the countless happy hours and late night events hosted by some green building organizations and companies.
Plus, there are tons of GBCI-approved continuing education opportunities at Greenbuild (over 100 hours worth!) according to USGBC. The expo, opening plenary, closing plenary, and education sessions all count as continuing education. So far, 131 on-site courses have been approved for a total of 150 hours of continuing education.
Early registration (which ends September 9th) for the full 3-day conference and expo are $600 for USGBC members and $800 for non-members. Late registration (after September 9th) is $700 for members and $1,000 for non-members. Pricing for full-time students, young professionals and “guests” (i.e. spouses) are cheaper. You can also sign up for a one-day pass, which is $325 for USGBC member early registration, $375 for member late registration, $350 for non-member early registration and $400 for non-member late registration. There are a few other options to register for just one event, so see full pricing details here.
If you register for all three days of the conference, you can participate in USGBC’s “one click” CMP program, which allows you to earn 15 hours of continuing education program. Professionals can attend 9 core educational sessions (9 hours), the opening and closing plenaries (3 hours) and the expo hall (3 hours). Then, USGBC will automatically report the hours directly to GBCI for you. In other words, LEED Green Associates can fulfill all of their continuing education hours in just three days, and LEED APs with one specialty can fulfill 50%.
One vs. Two Day Passes for Greenbuild
While one day passes are cheaper, it is not likely possible to get all 15 hours in one day. The way that the core programs (courses) are timed, you might be able to make 4 or 5 of them in one day, tops. The expo hall counts as 3 hours (if you fill out a questionnaire and check in with your badge) and each plenary counts as 1.5 hours (but they are on different days). If you only need a fraction of your hours, then you might be able to make significant headway in one day, but earning them all in one day is probably impossible (unless you can be in two places at once!).
While it may detract from your ability to earn all 15 hours, you can also choose to host an expo booth at Greenbuild. The downside here is that you might not be able to attend as many education sessions, etc. if you are manning the booth. Obviously, with about 30,000 attendees, your company’s products or services will gain lots of targeted publicity in a short amount of time. Each 10‘x10’ booth costs $4,100, plus $100 extra per exposed corner.
Learn more about becoming an exhibitor here.
So, by going to Greenbuild for three days or less, you can not only fulfill all of your continuing education hours, but also meet new people (and potential new business partners) in the industry, learn about the latest trends in LEED and green building, and see the up and coming technologies at the expo.
Talk about bang for your buck!
Last year’s conference, held in San Francisco, had over 30,000 attendees and over 900 exhibitors, so it’s a hot spot for networking in the industry. This year, the conference will be held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania from November 20th to 22nd.
The keynote speaker will be former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and Bon Jovi will be performing, so it’s sure to draw a large crowd once again. Networking opportunities will be extremely plentiful with this big an audience - not only can you meet other professionals at the expo, but you can also meet them in education sessions or at the countless happy hours and late night events hosted by some green building organizations and companies.
Plus, there are tons of GBCI-approved continuing education opportunities at Greenbuild (over 100 hours worth!) according to USGBC. The expo, opening plenary, closing plenary, and education sessions all count as continuing education. So far, 131 on-site courses have been approved for a total of 150 hours of continuing education.
Early registration (which ends September 9th) for the full 3-day conference and expo are $600 for USGBC members and $800 for non-members. Late registration (after September 9th) is $700 for members and $1,000 for non-members. Pricing for full-time students, young professionals and “guests” (i.e. spouses) are cheaper. You can also sign up for a one-day pass, which is $325 for USGBC member early registration, $375 for member late registration, $350 for non-member early registration and $400 for non-member late registration. There are a few other options to register for just one event, so see full pricing details here.
If you register for all three days of the conference, you can participate in USGBC’s “one click” CMP program, which allows you to earn 15 hours of continuing education program. Professionals can attend 9 core educational sessions (9 hours), the opening and closing plenaries (3 hours) and the expo hall (3 hours). Then, USGBC will automatically report the hours directly to GBCI for you. In other words, LEED Green Associates can fulfill all of their continuing education hours in just three days, and LEED APs with one specialty can fulfill 50%.
One vs. Two Day Passes for Greenbuild
While one day passes are cheaper, it is not likely possible to get all 15 hours in one day. The way that the core programs (courses) are timed, you might be able to make 4 or 5 of them in one day, tops. The expo hall counts as 3 hours (if you fill out a questionnaire and check in with your badge) and each plenary counts as 1.5 hours (but they are on different days). If you only need a fraction of your hours, then you might be able to make significant headway in one day, but earning them all in one day is probably impossible (unless you can be in two places at once!).
While it may detract from your ability to earn all 15 hours, you can also choose to host an expo booth at Greenbuild. The downside here is that you might not be able to attend as many education sessions, etc. if you are manning the booth. Obviously, with about 30,000 attendees, your company’s products or services will gain lots of targeted publicity in a short amount of time. Each 10‘x10’ booth costs $4,100, plus $100 extra per exposed corner.
Learn more about becoming an exhibitor here.
So, by going to Greenbuild for three days or less, you can not only fulfill all of your continuing education hours, but also meet new people (and potential new business partners) in the industry, learn about the latest trends in LEED and green building, and see the up and coming technologies at the expo.
Talk about bang for your buck!
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