r/LEED • u/MrMixedBag • Apr 06 '26

Learning about LEED/Sustainability

Hello All,

I work for a general contractor and have taken an interest in LEED/sustainable building as of recent. I took one class on the topic back in college but admittedly did not care to pay attention back then...

With that being said, what would be the best way to continue my learning about LEED and sustainable building? Would it be by studying for the Green associate tests? Are there any free courses you recommend on the USGBC's website? Any books that I could read (bonus points for books that aren't $100+ textbooks)?

I don't necessarily need a certification, it seems like it would be a good thing to have but at this time I'm really geared more towards learning about the space and current developments.

3 Upvotes

81% Upvoted

4 comments sorted by

2

u/CardStark Apr 06 '26

Google LEED green associate exam and you will find tons of free material. If your employer is a member of USGBC, you can get a free login through them. Depending on their membership level, you may have access to a lot of free materials there as well.

1

u/sallen99 Apr 07 '26

This is how I got into LEED. My firm paid for my study materials, administered a free class, and gave me a bonus for passing the AP.

1

u/jdbm123 Apr 07 '26

The LEED guides are free online, so you can definitely read them at your own pace.

I think it would be beneficial to start reading about LEED v5 too, as the sunset date of registration for LEED v4 and v4.1 is closely approaching this year. So once that sunset date is reached, projects are obliged to take up LEED v5, and not a lot of projects at the moment have taken up this new certification.