LEED Green Associate, LEED AP Operations + Maintenance and LEED AP Homes are first to be accredited

Washington, DC (March 14, 2011) – Today, the Green Building Certification Institute (GBCI) announced that three of its LEED Professional Credentials have received ANSI (American National Standards Institute) accreditation under international standard ANSI/ISO/IEC 17024 for personnel certification bodies.

GBCI joins an elite group of only 30 other personnel certification bodies in a range of industry sectors to achieve ANSI accreditation since the program’s inception in 2003. ANSI accreditation is designed to increase the integrity, confidence and mobility of certified professionals.

“We owe it to our 162,000-plus credential holders to demand a level of rigor that ensures their LEED Professional Credentials stand for quality,” said Beth Holst, Vice President of Credentialing at GBCI.  “This accreditation from ANSI validates the integrity of our processes under a global standard. That provides a  mark of differentiation for our credential holders, and the respect of the market that employs them.”


Accreditation has been granted to the LEED Green Associate, LEED AP Operations + Maintenance and LEED AP Homes credentials, the first of the LEED credentials to be introduced following the release of the LEED 2009 rating system. GBCI expects to submit the remainder of the LEED Professional Credential suite for accreditaton later this year. The credentials provide employers, clients, policymakers and other stakeholders with assurances of an individual’s competencies, and are the mark of the most qualified, educated and influential green building professionals in the marketplace.  

“ANSI commends GBCI for achieving accreditation and demonstrating their commitment to the continual improvement of their credentialing programs,” said Dr. Roy Swift, ANSI senior director of personnel credentialing accreditation programs. “This achievement marks the culmination of a multi-month effort to demonstrate compliance to a rigorous internationally recognized accreditation process. Accreditation by ANSI creates a valuable distinction for GBCI’s credentialing programs. This value extends through the service network – from certification body, to certification holder, to employer, to the public they serve.”


About GBCI
The Green Building Certification Institute (GBCI) provides third-party confirmation that specific criteria related to LEED building certification and LEED professional credentialing have been met. 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 37,000 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 <http://www.gbci.org> .

About ANSI
The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) is a private non-profit organization whose mission is to enhance U.S. global competitiveness and the American quality of life by promoting, facilitating, and safeguarding the integrity of the voluntary standardization and conformity assessment system. Its membership is comprised of businesses, professional societies and trade associations, standards developers, government agencies, and consumer and labor organizations. The Institute represents the diverse interests of more than 125,000 companies and organizations and 3.5 million professionals worldwide. 

The Institute is the official U.S. representative to the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and, via the U.S. National Committee, the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), and is a U.S. representative to the International Accreditation Forum (IAF).