Green Occupations: Educating Builders and Brokers

Page 1 of 2 ( 1 2 )

Consumers can look for real estate agents who are EcoBroker Certified® Defining Green Despite all the progress that has been made to educate consumers and home industry professionals on all things green, there still remains the important matter of defining what "green" means. To date, no universally accepted "green home" standard exists. Programs like the U.S. Green Building Council's (USGBC) Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) have established criteria in place for certifying a residence with the "LEED for Homes" (LEED-H) award, but even within the LEED rating system there are numerous performance levels that can be achieved by an aspiring green home. "We like to think there are shades of green," says Ryan Moehring of EcoBroker International, a green certification program for real estate professionals. "We believe a property with several green features is better than a property that has none." The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) is poised to release its National Green Building Standard that will establish an industry-wide standard by which all green buildings will be measured. A draft of the guideline is open to public comment until February 8, 2008 and can be found on the NAHB Web site. Building Green When a consumer wants to build a green home, he wants a contractor who has some knowledge and experience in the matter. Enter the burgeoning industry of green builder education. Programs and certifications are springing up countrywide, all aimed at legitimizing the home builder as a green home builder. The Green Builder College is one such program. Offering courses in Green Building, Energy Basics, Energy-Efficient Homes, Managing Moisture and IAQ (Indoor Air Quality) Fundamentals, the Green Builder College awards the Green Builder certification to those who complete all the courses and successfully pass a final certification exam. Level 1 Green Builder Certification—currently the only level offered—costs $700 and requires 40 credit hours. "The certification helps differentiate our students, which include builders, developers, remodelers and designers," says Sara Gutterman, co-founder and CEO of Green Builder College. "We require continuing education of our students, and we plan to add subsequent certification levels and new features in the near future," she adds. The Green Builder College plans on offering courses on the NAHB's National Green Building Standard once the standard has been made official. The USGBC also has green building education opportunities by way of online courses, private workshops and "webinars," which are online seminars webcast to students over the Internet. Three levels of offerings range from the introductory 100-level courses designed for the newcomer to the 300-level courses for builders ready to implement the LEED rating system in new construction projects. Costs range from $25 for an online introductory course to over $300 for full-day workshop training.

...Continued - Page 1 of 2 ( 1 2 )
Next Page >