What is LEED®?
The Canada Green Building Council
(CaGBC) is this country's leading not-for-profit organization dedicated to
advancing green building and sustainable community development. The
organization provides a host of educational opportunities, available online and
at the national level, as well as through eight local chapters across the
country.
LEED education is one important facet of CaGBC's activities.
LEED is the internationally accepted
benchmark and mark of excellence for the design, construction and operation of
high performance green buildings. The word is an acronym for ‘Leadership in
Energy and Environmental Design'. CaGBC holds the Canadian license for LEED in
Canada and has enthusiastically embraced the LEED rating systems, which are
transforming how built environments are designed, constructed and
operated. Canada's LEED ratings have
refined the U.S. system to reflect Canadian climates, construction practices
and regulations.
It's a holistic approach to
sustainability, recognizing performance in five areas of human and
environmental health: sustainable site development, water efficiency, energy
efficiency, materials selection and indoor environmental quality. LEED
certification is based on a total point score achieved in these five areas
following an independent review.
The CaGBC's LEED curriculum is designed
for full-time, continuing education and professional development students.
Courses are available in both full semester and individual modules and give
students knowledge of LEED rating systems, preparing them for LEED Green
Associate or LEED specialty exams. The advantage to institutions and
instructors is that CaGBC's materials can reduce their own course development
time and effort. It also increases enrolment and revenue and contributes to the
long-term success of students.
LEED Courses Offered by CaGBC
‘Building Green with LEED' is an
intensive 36-hour, core program that provides a comprehensive overview of
techniques, approaches, materials and technologies used in creating green
buildings and communities. It gives students an understanding of LEED rating
systems and illustrates the various strategies that are used to meet LEED
requirements in green building.
Other 36-hour courses are LEED in
Practice, LEED Canada for New Construction, and LEED Green Building Strategies.
Modular delivery of shorter courses
is flexible and cost-efficient to implement. It allows instructors to update
and manage course curriculum independently and to select among various CaGBC courses
that fit a pre-existing curriculum. An introduction to the LEED Green Building
Rating systems is one such three-hour module, which explains key components and
shows where various LEED systems are to be applied. The LEED Green Associate
study course is two days and again is introductory level exam, geared to
students who wish to continue on to more advanced LEED credentials.
CaGBC's Conference Provides More Education
Opportunities
Further opportunities for LEED
education are provided at the CaGBC's national conference, which in 2015 is
being held in Vancouver. The CaGBC National Conference and Expo 2014 boasted a
packed agenda of educational opportunities. In addition to workshops, master
speaker activities and networking receptions, there is always a popular Expo floor featuring 100 of Canada's most innovative companies,
products and services. It's all part of the
continuum of a green building movement that is transforming Canada. Mark your calendars for next year's conference when
Building Lasting Change hits Vancouver from June 2 - 4, 2015.