What does a LEED Accredited Professional do?

To standardize environmentally sustainable building development, the United States Green Building Council created Leadership for Energy and Environmental Design, or LEED. This resulted in diverse job opportunities for people with LEED accreditation, including jobs in the building industry, the real estate profession, and many more. Jobs that may require LEED certification might be in the fields of finance, healthcare, and consulting firms. LEED generally is internationally recognized, and therefore LEED accredited professionals are needed globally.

Job requirements vary, depending on the base job. A LEED certification generally adds to another job. For instance, an architect's job is enhanced with the certification, but usually not reliant upon it. If a person is searching for a job and is a LEED accredited professional, he or she may explore the possibilities within his or her field of expertise.

Many professions requiring a LEED accreditation are consulting jobs. A LEED accredited professional may be a technical resource for the company's customers and inform them on energy and operating efficiency, help the company comply with LEED standards, and more. The LEED program has a system of six standards, and a consultant usually strives to help the client reach as many of these as possible.

A LEED implementation manager may oversee projects, process information, and/or write informative pamphlets and other publications. The job often requires a person to balance the LEED program with the needs of the company. Usually a LEED accredited professional works within several departments in a company to ensure that all areas of the business incorporate LEED standards. Sometimes this involves coordinating business divisions in more than one country or region.

The architectural profession generally is one of the largest areas of employment for accredited professionals. In this industry, a LEED accredited professional may work with building designs, new construction, or existing buildings. The certified worker might coordinate a national, regional, and/or local project. This may involve a government or public project, an industrial or business venture, or a private one.

In the realty profession, a LEED accredited professional might need to help building owners and managers to achieve LEED standards. This may involve setting up and maintaining an indoor quality program for existing buildings. These buildings may include retail or residential rental units.

Many job titles do not indicate that the job is for a LEED accredited professional. For example, neither the titles director of engineering nor A/V consultant reference LEED accreditation, but accreditation may be a requirement for either job. A LEED accredited job hunter may need to research his or her career field thoroughly to find an appropriate job.

Although most positions are in the private sector, several government jobs require LEED accreditation. For example, an environmental program administrator may be a city employee responsible for implementing government policies, achieving cost savings through LEED standards, and enforcing environmental strategies. He or she may need to balance economical, social, and environmental considerations while remaining true to the LEED standards. Other government jobs may involve neighborhood or community planning.