This is a shared post from: LEED, Itaca, Casa Clima Conference by Aghape

translated from the following article on our Italian blog, written by Enrico Bonilauri: Convegno LEED, Itaca, CasaClima di Aghape

We recently took part in the LEED, CASACLIMA, ITACA conference, organized by Aghape last Thursday, September 16th in Castel San Pietro Terme (Bologna). Entry ticket: € 30,00 + VAT per person.

It seems as though this would have been an event not to miss. The organizer sold it as a “workshop and round table” featuring all major companies that certify sustainable architectural design in Italy today. It was going to be the first event of this kind ever organized in our country, bringing together all the institutions that want to guarantee quality in design and construction. It would have been a chance to finally send a well-defined message to the building industry and to the market, now that everything seems to be flooded with green wash. This event could have given a steady signal where the central national government is totally missing.

Organizer: Aghape

Type of Event: Workshop e Tavola Rotonda

Participating Organizations:
• INBAR – Istituto Nazionale di Bioarchitettura
• GBC Italia – LEED
• iiSBE – Itaca
• Agenzia Casa Clima

Entry fee per person: € 30,00 + Iva

Morning Presentations

We did not take part to the morning part of the event, since the program consisted in four or five predictable ad-like monologues by manufacturers sponsoring the event. Sure, sponsors are free to have their presentations, particularly when they pay the bill of the event. This time we had to pay to enter the conference, so we felt free to skip the four hour advertisement in the morning.

The event was held in the pretty town of Castel San Pietro Terme (Bo), that was probably the nicest (and only) discovery of the whole day. It was a brand-new conference center, with a ridiculously small parking lot, and the classic overcrowded, bad-smelling, stable-like conference hall. It really was the best place to waste a nice end-of-summer day.

The workshop, the round table, and other pipe dreams

It would be beyond the scope of this post and very difficult to summarize our frustration with the current fad of what is being billed as ‘sustainable design’ in Italy and all around the world these days. However, we can honestly say that we had dreamt of this meeting – LEED + Casa Clima - at least since we founded Emu Architects, two years ago. This “marriage”, in our opinion, has to happen. It has to happen because the Italian construction market is in desperate need for something like it. There is an undescribable need for the public to understand who certifies what.

In this post, we’ll try to summarize the afternoon presentations. It is not our goal here to give a detailed analysis of these certification schemes, or compare them to each other. Furthermore, in some cases, our opinion is purely based upon the impressions received during an extremely boring conference. It is possible that we might have misunderstood some details. We also invite anybody to contact us to correct any mistake we may make in the following descriptions.

Please note that it was not originally scheduled for INBAR to present in this conference. In addition, we noted that nobody presented on another certification scheme, SB100 by ANAB.

INBAR – Istituto Nazionale di Bioarchitettura (National Institute for Organic Architecture)

INBAR was founded in Bolzano by Ugo Sasso, its charismatic leader who prematurely passed away a couple of years ago. For the moment, the certification scheme they offer only regards buildings, although they might start certifying products and materials too in the future. A project gets certified by achieving thirty among the fifty-five available goals, divided in “compulsory goals”, “main goals” and “secondary goals”. The result is either black or white: either you get certified, or you just don’t. You are good are you are bad. There are no levels of goodness, like “A, B, C”, or “Gold, Silver, Platinum”.

Even though that’s pretty much all we know about this scheme, we really think that the market is already beyond this point. We think that this certification scheme has to be at least updated. The whole presentation was short and not very exciting. The presenter stuck to presenting his product, without interacting with either the public, or any of the other presenters. Where was the workshop? Where was the round table?

GBC Italia – LEED GBC Italia (Italian Green Building Council)

“LEED non è intuitivo: è una rottura di palle“ (LEED is not intuitive: it’s a ball breaker).

These were the opening words of Mario Zoccatelli, the President of the Italian Green Building Council. His presentation was the carbon-copy of other ones he has done in the last couple of years. In our opinion, there’s a limit to how easy-going a presentation is supposed to be. Zoccatelli didn’t seem to care to go far past that point, in fact, he didn’t seem to care much about his presentation at all. As usual, he kept inserting some English words here and there during his presentation in Italian, which took me back to the 80′s when TV anchormen thought that that was something cool to do. On September 16th 2010, it was just annoying.

We’d like to hear what the USGBC would say if they had seen their LEED presented that way. We’d like to see their faces, when the first presentation slide shown said “Perchè LEED? Good enough” (Why LEED? Good enough). Needless to say, the whole presentation by GBC Italia had slides in Italian mixed with ones that were still in English, probably because they didn’t even bother translating them.

LEED is definitely worth more that what has been presented there. Maybe, what Zoccatelli referred to as ball-breaking was actually this kind of one-way conference. And he didn’t even have to pay to get in! In our opinion, Italy needs LEED (or something similar), and the Italian version of LEED really needs CasaClima as energy certification (specially for LEED Homes). Apart from its grand opening, Zoccatelli’s speech was nothing but a product presentation, announcing an Italian version of LEED Homes before the end of the year, and the start of the LEED Historic Building project in 2011.

iiSBE – ITACA : Istituto per l’Innovazione e Trasparenza degli Appalti e la Compatibilità Ambientale (Institute for Innovation and Transparency in Public Bids and Environmental Compatibility)

The intention behind the birth of ITACA was to finally make things clear in a market overflooded with certification schemes. Italian regions – that have some degree of independence in issuing local laws – developed this tool starting from the Sustainable Building Challenge. They tried to simplify this international instrument, made up of something like 240 criteria, and to adapt it to the Italian reality.

If a project achieves a set score, it can receive public incentives, tax breaks and so on. The way this certification is carried out, depends on the individual region. In some of them, the process is carried out by the Regional Office for the Environment; in other ones, it’s done by APs; in other ones, it’s the very project architect to do the whole thing.

If the goal of ITACA is to finally make things clear among too many certification schemes, we think it is not consistent to come up with one more of them. Even less consistent is the way the certification process is carried out. How can it be consistent to give out public incentives based on something that is issued by a public office, free professionals, and sketchy second-cousins at the same time? It’s Italy here: what kind of future do you envision for something like that in this country?

Agenzia Casa Clima (Casa Clima Agency)

In this case, our opinion is biased, and we have no problem admitting it. To quote Zoccatelli, it’s a “ball-breaker” to have German-speaking mountain people to come and teach the best way to build. If there were a valid alternative, we would not drive all the way to Bolzano to get ripped off for each of the expensive classes organized by the Agenzia. Unfortunately, there is not.

The Agency is presented by its founder and Director, Norbert Lantschner. Words mean so much, sometimes. He is the only one, in the whole afternoon, to use the word “user”, the words “construction site”, and the brilliant, extraordinary, so German word “control”. It is brilliant, because no matter what certification scheme you may pick, it won’t have any value if nobody is going to carry out consistent control on a regular basis. If the goal is to create jobs, any certification scheme can work. If the goal is instead to guarantee building quality, then we need to have a consistent entity to control what happens at any stage of the process.

However charming, Lantschner’s presentation was a basic propaganda presentation that aimed to show the general unsustainability of our economy. Among other things, he points out how present minimum insulation standards in Italy are the same Sweden had in 1975. It’s a long way to go. A very long way.

Comments and criticisms.

Our biggest criticism is towards the organizer of the event. The entry ticket, 30 € plus VAT, was inclusive of a workshop and a round table. We got neither one nor the other. A workshop is a meeting during which a group of people engage an intense discussion and activity about a subject or a project. Nothing like that happened. It would have been impossible: there were hundreds of people! What should have been a round table, was instead the most classic of all conference-hall presentations. The presenters were at a long desk, facing the public, not each other. Discussion? Debate? Chatting? We paid for something we were not given! In an ideal world, we’d get our money back.

The only merit of the organizer – poor kids – is to have brought all those organizations together in one hall. And that’s it. The conference that sparked from it, had very few sparks at all: it so predictably turned out to be the flattest, most boring and useless chit-chat, where all presenters just showed their products. Everything was second-hand, nothing was new. In the end, we skipped the advertising by the sponsors in the morning, and we paid to listen to a bunch of certification scheme ads in the afternoon. I can think of so many ways to better invest 30 € and a beautiful summer afternoon!

It’s also worth noting how useless the mid-afternoon music break was, as two women played violin music to the empty chairs of the conference hall, when the mass of professionals swarmed outside for a smoke and to make phone calls.

In conclusion: why did we go there again?

LEED and CasaClima: a workshop for real?

These organizations want to guarantee building quality, to protect users and investors from the many sharks that populate the construction industry. This is what all of them say, but each one of them has so far worked alone. If they want to keep working for real, these divisions have to end. In our opinion, the Italian Green Building Council and the CasaClima Agency should have an extensive workshop behind closed doors, in private, and cooperate non-stop. They have to discuss, fight, duke it out and make peace. And the outcome should be a shared program that can finally make things clear in the Italian market.

As freelance professionals, we need results to be put into practice.

I’m about to report my first extended education experience, so I thought I would bring you along with me to see the decisions that need to be made. The course I recently participated in was a two-day (16 hours total) intensive workshop on everything to do with vegetated roofs or ‘green roofs’. I took this course through an Italian company that, of course, is not ERB approved and is located in Bolzano. We covered everything from construction specifications to plant selections and water management, each subject presented by a different professional.

So, where does this course fall in the list of categories for BD&C? And how much of my 16 hours do I report?

STEP 1 | Determine what type of activity or method of delivery my CE hours fall under.

Since my course was not ERB approved, nor was it conducted through an accredited University or College, it must fall under ‘Section 2: Live Presentations’.

STEP 2 | Note the limitations of the chosen method of delivery.

Live presentations must be between 50 and 90 minutes in length. I’m assuming this means you can only report up to 90 minutes in length for each individual presentation, not that if you attend something longer you must leave the room at 90 minutes! This limitation of 90 minutes does not make a lot of sense, however, since in the GBCI’s own example “a 120 minute program earns 2 hours”. I will try to report the full length of each presentation and see how it goes.

I can report 1 CE hour for the first hour of the presentation, and then 0.5 CE hours for every full half of one activity hour (30 minutes).

CE hours earned under this method may not exceed 5 hours per reporting period. Meaning there is no way that my 16 hours will count. So I should select 5 hours of presentations in categories that I need (which at the moment is all of them!). But this is important to remember near the end of my reporting period in case substituting the presentation in water management for the presentation on plant selection helps me reach my category minimums.

STEP 3 | Verifying my documentation.

I have no idea what the statistics are for the likelihood of being audited, but I’d rather be ready than scramble to assemble the appropriate documents later. Therefore I am going to use the GBCI-issued form titled ‘Activity Validation Form: Live Presentations’ to help me record exactly what happened.

GBCI | Activity Validation Form: Live Presentations

I’m just filling it out minimally in order to remember the bare bones. I also have a folder where I save all the PDF’s of everything I was given during the presentation and my notes. This way, if I happen to get audited, I can translate from Italian on an as-needed basis.

STEP 4 | Reporting the hours.

My question, since this is my first time, is whether I can report all of my CE hours and hope that GBCI works out my minimums from that… or is I need to keep track of everything and only report the end result minimums.

For this reason, I’m only submitting the information from one of the presentations. Once I get a feel for what it looks like I will update this post accordingly. Stay tuned!

UPDATE: thanks to reader, Maria, I’ve decided to just report all the hours of everything I did. Maria said they audit somewhere around 5-7%, and it’s better to have a whole bunch of stuff reported in case they reject things. Thanks, Maria!

Ritenendo la cosa utile,

GBC Italia intende informarla che nel caso in cui abbiate già fatto il passaggio da LEED AP NC2.2 a le nuove credenziali LEED AP 2009 (BD&C, ID&C….), (vedi sito www.gbci.org per maggiori informazioni),

tale passaggio implica il mantenimento delle credenziali mezzo 30 ore di formazione biennali da riportare nel proprio profilo (my credential sul sito di gbci.org).
Il non aderire al sistema 2009 e il non completare il CMP entro il 2 agosto 2011, implica la necessità di dover risuperare l’esame per continuare ad esercitare attività di LEED AP.

Nello specifico, questo programma di continuo aggiornamento prende il nome di Credential Maintenance Program (CMP) http://www.gbci.org/ShowFile.aspx?DocumentID=3665 8 (link di riferimento)

A tal proposito informiamo che, durante il primo semestre 2009, vi sarà la possibilità di ottenere fino a 14 delle 30 ore richieste frequentando i corsi che GBC Italia ha organizzato assieme a US GBC.

I corsi si svolgeranno a Trento (30 – 31 Marzo 2010) e a Verona (6 – 7 Maggio 2010) http://www.gbcitalia.org/index.php/primo-semestre

sono validi al fine di completare il CMP e valgono 7 ore ciascuno.(Le giornate di Trento e di Verona si equivalgono e non sono cumulabili !)

Rimanendo a disposizione per ulteriori chiarimenti ed informazioni,

con l’occasione si porgono i più cordiali saluti.

Elisa Dall’Agnol

–
Ufficio Formazione
GBC Italia

All LEED-specific continuing education must be approved and designated as LEED-specific by an ERB or GBCI and meet one or more of the following criteria:

be process-related to LEED.
be credit and/or category related, such as dealing with requirements, intents, or version comparisons.
be a LEED update (in-depth, technical).
be an in-depth LEED project case study targeted toward one specific LEED credit.
show a best practice lesson which entails successful or unsuccesful implementation of LEED, such as:- examples of LEED implementation that have resulted in failure and should be avoided,
- implementing LEED while maintaining compliance with local codes and regulations,
- successfully implementing LEED using innovation as a tool to guide the project.

show benefits of using LEED (ROI, grants, taxes, incentives).

For the LEED AP credential, the six LEED-specific hours must directly relate to the LEED AP’s specialty designation.

I’ll just repeat that for emphasis: you must have 6 LEED-specific hours directly related to your specialty designation.

Then, GBCI adds this little bit to confuse you:

CE hours that conform to the above definition of LEED-specific. Three of the LEED Green Associate’s 15 CE hours must be LEED-specific hours. Six of the LEED AP’s 30 CE hours must be LEED-specific. (For the LEED AP credential, the LEED-specific hours must directly relate to the LEED AP’s specialty designation.)
LEED-specific professional development courses, self-study programs, and college and university courses are designated by the ERBs; with the exception of LEED-specific hours earned through authorship or LEED project participation, only activities designated as LEED specific by an ERB can count toward the above requirements. The above requirements are minimums; all of the required CE hours for LEED Green Associates and LEED APs can be earned in LEED-specific hours.definition

CE hours that are applicable for continuing education credit but are not LEED-specific because they are related to green building in general but not related to the USGBC’s LEED Rating systems. LEED Green Associates can earn up to 12 CE hours in general green building hours. LEED APs can earn up to 24 CE hours in general green building hours.

This is important to note, and it doesn’t say this in very many places, but I’ll say it again:

A LEED AP may not go over 24 hours of non-LEED-specific hours.

A. Considerations for Site Selection

1. Land Issues
2. Plants and Animals

B. Community Connectivity

1. Services

C. Development

1. Building and Land
2. Lighting

D. Climate Conditions

II. Water Management | 3 CE hours required

A. Water Treatment
B. Stormwater
C. Irrigation Demand

III. Project Systems and Energy Impacts | 6 CE hours required

A. Energy Performance Policies
B. Energy Performance Measurement
C. Building Components
D. On-Site Renewable Energy
E. Third-Party Relationships

1. Requirements

F. Energy Tradeoffs
G. Sources

IV. Acquisition, Installation, and Management of Project Materials | 3 CE hours required

A. Building Reuse
B. Rapidly Renewable Materials
C. Material Acquisition

V. Improvements to the Indoor Environment | 5 CE hours required

A. Ventilation
B. Tobacco Smoke Control
C. Indoor Air Quality

1. Pre-Construction
2. During Construction
3. Before Occupancy
4. During Occupancy

D. Low-Emitting Materials
E. Indoor/Outdoor Chemical and Pollutant Control
F. Lighting Controls
G. Thermal Controls
H. Views
I. Types of Building Spaces

VI. Stakeholder Involvement in Innovation | 2 CE hours required

A. Design Workshop/Charrette
B. Ways to Earn Credit
C. Education of a Building Manager

VII. Project Surroundings and Public Outreach | 1 CE hour required

A. Infrastructure
B. Zoning Requirements
C. Government Planning Agencies
D. Reduced Parking Methods
E. Transit-Oriented Development
F. Pedestrian-Oriented Streetscape Design

+ 6 CE hours required in any category

(NOTE: This is 30 hours total. 6 of these 30 hours must be ‘LEED specific’)

It’s a bit more time intensive than you would think, so make sure you don’t leave it all until the end of your reporting period. You really need to incorporate education into your weekly work flow.

For your convenience, I’ve included the links below to the CMP handbooks, which can be hard to find in the GBCI website.

CMP enrollment guide for LEED APs without specialty.

CMP enrollment guide

So, here’s a little walk-through of how to report your CE hours.

1. go to the GBCI homepage .

2. click login to My Credentials at the top right of the page.

3. enter your email address and password

4. make sure that you have enrolled in prescriptive credentialing maintenance (if so, there will be a bullet point in red under ‘Current Options’).

5. select ‘Review/Report CMP activity’

6. You will then see a spreadsheet of all of the categories and minimum required hours for your specialty. Click here to see the table of requirements for all specialties.

7. Click Add/Review on the right next to the section that you believe your course falls under.

8. The activity date is straightforward enough. If it happens to be a course over multiple days, be sure to enter the ending date as well.

9. For the subcategory, the GBCI statement is below. I have posted the Categories and Subcategories here as well.

Subcategories are specific subjects related to the category under which they appear.  Subcategories help define the depth and breadth of the category. See Appendix A of the CMP Guide or the Enrollment Guide for the categories and subcategories accepted for CE hours for your credential(s).

10. The ‘Activity Delivery Method’s are listed below. Follow the link to find the GBCI definition of each activity type.

•    Professional development courses
•    Live presentations
•    Self-study programs
•    College and university courses
•    Certificates, professional licenses, and credentials
•    Committee and volunteer work
•    Authorship
•    LEED project participation

11. The ‘Activity Description‘ should be filled out to the following instructions based on method of delivery:

Professional Development or Continuing Education Course
•    At least two-sentence description of course content

Live Presentation
•    At least two-sentence description of presentation content

Self-Study Program
•    At least two-sentence description of program or material content

College and University Course
•    At least two-sentence description of course content

Certificate, Professional License, or Credential
•    Title of the certificate, professional license or credential

Committee and Volunteer Work
•    Desription of committee or volunteer

Authorship
•    Brief description of subject of article or book
Please note the date of publication should match the activity date indicated in your reporting form.

LEED Project Participation
•    Description of role on project (including if you were a project administrator)

12. The ‘Activity Details’ should be filled out to the following instructions based on method of delivery:

Professional Development or Continuing Education Course
•    Course title
•    Course provider
•    Course format

Live Presentation
•    Presentation title
•    Presentation host
•    Name(s) of presenter(s)

Self-Study Program
•    Program or material title
•    Program format

College and University Course
•    Course name
•    School name

Certificate, Professional License, or Credential
•    Certificate, professional license or credential provider

Committee and Volunteer Work
•    Name of committee, if applicable
•    Leadership position, if applicable
•    Volunteer work department, if applicable

Authorship
•    Name of article or book
•    Name of publication, for article
•    Name of publisher, for book
Please note the date of publication should match the activity date indicated in your reporting form.

LEED Project Participation
•    Name of project
•    Credits participated with

13. Enter the number of CE hours, keeping in mind the restrictions on how many hours you can report for each category.

Professional Development courses
• 1 CE hour for first hour
• .5 CE hours for each additional hour (or part thereof)*
• Professional development courses must be approved by an ERB.

Live Presentations
• 1 CE hour for first hour
• .5 CE hours for each additional hour (or part thereof)*
• CE hours may be earned only once for attending or leading the same instructional program.
• CE hours earned as an instructor, discussion leader, speaker, or panelist may not exceed 50 percent of the total CE hours required during any reporting period.

Self-study programs
• 1 CE hour for first hour
• .5 CE hours for each additional hour (or part thereof)*
• Total CE hours for self-study programs may not exceed 5 hours per 2-year reporting period.

College and University Courses
• 1 CE hour per classroom hour
• Course must be at an accredited college or universityCertificates, Professional Licenses, and Credentials
• 1CE hour for certificates
• 3 CE hours for professional licenses and credentials
• The certificate, professional license, or credential must be earned during the reporting period. CE hours can only be obtained when the license is earned initially. CE hours are not granted for preparatory courses, only for the exam.

Professional Development
• 2 CE hours for holding a leadership position
• .5 CE hours per meeting attendance
• Total CE hours for professional development may not exceed 4 hours per 2-year reporting period.

Authorship
• 3 CE hours for published article
• 10 CE hours for published book
• The work must be published during the LEED Professional’s 2-year reporting period.
• Any published article or book will be automatically audited for verification and will have to demonstrate the linkages to the topics in Appendix A and how the article/book contributes to the competency of LEED Professionals.

LEED Project Participation
• 1 CE hour per LEED Credit or prerequisite
• 2 CE hours per project for being the Project Administrator

And poof. You’re finally done. I will be soon posting my handy little desk chart that I printed out to help myself keep track of what categories I still need to cover and what methods of delivery I have yet to experience! I will provide a link when that’s up. Hope this helps!

The GBCI literature is confusing to say the least. There are about 12 places to look and they all overlap or contradict each other. If for no other reason than to organize my own thoughts, I need to post a clear explanation of how to maintain my credentials. Hopefully this will help someone else as well.

There are 3 options… with 3 very different price tags.

OPTION 1 | ‘I have no desire to spend any more money. I just want to be recognized as a LEED AP.’

cost? $$$ zero dollars spent

what do I do? Don’t do a thing. If you passed before July 31, 2009, you have until July 30, 2011 to decide to not do anything. After that, options 2 and 3 on this list are no longer available to you.

what will happen? You will be listed in the LEED AP directory indefinitely without specialty.

Pros? No more money spent. No more time spent. And you still get to use ‘LEED AP’ in your signature.

Cons? Over time, without a specialty designated to your credential… it will become outdated. People in the field will notice that you have the kind of LEED credential that was earned before 2009 and does not require any continuing education. They may begin to question your knowledge. But this won’t happen for a few years probably.

OPTION 2 | ‘I just spent a huge amount of time and money to get here. I want to have a lasting credential without retesting for anything.’ I chose this option, by the way.

cost? $$$ the price of maintaining your credential through continued education. (follow my posts if you want to find cheap ones!)

what do I do? Log in to ‘My Credentials’ on the GBCI website. Under the heading ‘Current Options’, scroll down to the second group of options. Select the option that allows you to enroll in ‘prescriptive credentialing maintenance’. Read and sign everything. Next, read my post about CMP options and begin your 30 hours of fun (finish before summer 2011).

what will happen? At the end of your reporting period, assuming all of your educational credits have been approved, you will be listed as a LEED AP with a specialty in Building Design and Construction (BD&C).

Pros? Only 30 hours of time, plus the number of hours it takes you to find cheap classes to take. Depending on your bargain hunting skills, you could get away with spending very little or a lot. I’m aiming for very little.

Cons? If you had intended to use your AP credential towards a job in LEED Homes or Neighborhood Design, you might be better off with a specialty that reflects one of those interests. In which case, please move on to Option 3.

OPTION 2 | ‘I’m really interested in LEED Homes or Neighborhood Development. I’d like to be recognized especially in one of those fields.’

cost? $$$ the price of retesting under a specialty exam PLUS the price of maintaining one or both credentials over the years to come.

what do I do? Log in to ‘My Credentials’ on the GBCI website. Under the heading ‘Current Options’, scroll down to the second group of options. Select the option that allows you to enroll in ‘a new specialty examination’. Chose a new specialty; Read and sign everything. Then start studying again.

what will happen? Once you pass your specialty exam, you will be listed as a LEED AP with a specialty in whichever you chose. You will still have to maintain this credential, and if you want you can maintain the BD&C specialty as well (which you would have obtained through Option 2).

Pros? You will be special! You will have a credential which accurately reflects your interests and/or field of work, possibly earning you a higher salary.

Cons? You enter into study hell once again, and you fork out the ridiculously high testing fee once again.

I like to break things down into 3′s when I feel a bit lost. So here’s my 3 big goals for the future regarding the use of this new credential:

1. Get smarter: I am not under the illusion that my studying days are over. They are only just beginning. Maintaining my credentials will require ongoing education (and quite a bit of money) in order to prove my continued worth as a leader in the sustainable building field. The GBCI’s Credentialing Maintenance Program (CMP) requires me to complete a confusing number of hours over a vaguely defined spread of LEED-related issues. I’ll need to clarify and post about this to understand it better. Check back later.

2. Get experienced: I am located in Italy, which is not a country seething with LEED projects. There are a few, however, and I have made some steps towards familiarizing myself with other LEED Italia professionals. I am even listed as a LEED AP on the Green Building Council of Italy’s website. While LEED Italy is still in its infancy, I am also trying to learn a bit about Casa Clima and Itaca – two of the other rating schemes used here in Italy.

3. Get recognized: For me, this means growing our new business to the point where we have a comfortable client base and a good reputation for quality architectural designs. I’d like to use my LEED AP credential as a tool for initiating conversations that would otherwise be overlooked in this somewhat traditional and rural setting (rural Reggio Emilia, Italy).

For now, I think these are reasonable (but general) goals. Over the next few months, I hope to post about more specific ways to achieve them.