The premier organization independently recognizing excellence in green business industry performance and practice globally. Through rigorous certification and professional credentialing programs, GBCI drives the adoption of green building and sustainable business practices globally.
With the emergence of COVID-19, GBCI has adapted our certification review process to provide project teams flexibility, help them update their certification work plans and extend timelines. Our goal is to steady the ship for our customers and focus on the health and safety of all people involved in certification and verification activities.
GBCI is the global certification body for the LEED green building program. LEED was founded more than 20 years ago to provide a road map for developing sustainable buildings. Today, LEED is the most widely used green building program in the world with more than 102,000 registered and certified commercial projects across 178 countries and territories.
While LEED is GBCI’s most well-known program, over the last several years, GBCI has also expanded to administer several other complementary rating systems that cover nearly every facet of the sustainability industry. With the addition of these programs, GBCI is consistently advancing our strategy to create new markets, build capacity and create value. Together, these programs complement LEED and ensure we are addressing all areas of the sustainability community as we work toward a common goal of ensuring a sustainable, healthy future for all.
GBCI performs third-party technical reviews and verification to determine if projects have met the standards set forth by the LEED rating system. LEED is an internationally symbol of sustainability excellence that signifies a project is lowering carbon emissions, conserving resources and reducing operating costs, while prioritizing sustainable practices and creating a healthier environment.
Arc is a technology company that is affiliated with GBCI. Arc believes that performance is the future of green building and launched the Arc performance platform to help create better buildings and places for people and the environment. Arc helps users achieve green building certification, improve individual building sustainability, manage complex portfolios and transform cities and communities. The Arc performance platform powers LEED certification.
The SITES Rating System evaluates the sustainability of landscapes and measures their performance to ultimately demonstrate the value landscapes have in our communities. SITES can be used for development projects to enhance their sustainability, implement green infrastructure strategies and improve resilience.
TRUE is a zero waste certification program for businesses to assess performance in reducing waste and maximizing resource efficiency. TRUE enables businesses and organizations to define, pursue and achieve zero waste goals for their facilities. A TRUE-certified project’s goal is to divert all solid waste from the landfill, incineration (waste-to-energy) and the environment.
The PEER Rating System measure and improves power system performance and electricity infrastructure. PEER encourages the adoption of reliable, resilient and sustainable practices, and helps utilities solve aging infrastructure, find cost savings, share best practices, build for resilience and enhance tracking to prevent failures.
GBCI administers the Investor Confidence Project (ICP), and its Investor Ready Energy Efficiency Certification (IREE). ICP is a global underwriting standard for developing and measuring energy efficiency retrofits for commercial and multifamily residential buildings. Through its IREE certification, ICP aims to standardize energy efficiency upgrades.
The RELi rating system takes a holistic approach to resilient design. It is used to assess and plan for all of the acute hazards that buildings and communities can face during unplanned events, prepare to mitigate against these hazards and design and construct buildings to maintain critical life-saving services in the event of extended loss of power, heating fuel or water.
An innovation of IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, EDGE is a green building certification system focused on making buildings more resource-efficient. EDGE empowers developers and builders to quickly identify the most cost effective ways to reduce energy use, water use and embodied energy in materials. GBCI is a certification provider for EDGE in over 140 countries around the globe and the exclusive certification provider for EDGE in India.
GRESB is an investor-driven organization that is transforming the way we assess Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) performance of real assets globally, including real estate portfolios and infrastructure assets. GRESB is an independently operated subsidiary of GBCI.
GBCI administers IWBI’s WELL Building Standard, an evidence-based standard, which sets performance requirements in seven categories: air, water, nourishment, light, fitness, comfort and mind.
GBCI offers federal agencies and the Department of Defense a robust analysis of their work and dedicated technical support to meet the Guiding Principles for Federal Leadership in High Performance and Sustainable Buildings. The Guiding Principles was established by an executive order and is a set of policies for building, renovating and operating optimal, efficient buildings.
GBCI’s credentials demonstrate proficiency in green building and sustainability, and are a way for professionals to showcase their knowledge, experience and credibility in the green building and sustainability marketplace. Whether you are a student, emerging professional or industry expert, GBCI offers a full suite of 15 credentials and certificate programs that strengthen your resume, help you stand out from the crowd and showcase your knowledge and expertise to the industry and potential employers.
In response to COVID-19, we now offer online testing for several of our programs including the LEED Green Associate, LEED AP with specialty, WELL AP, SITES AP and Urban Greenhouse Gas Inventory Specialist exams.
GBCI credentials consist of competency exams and certificate programs. The GBCI credentialing team consists of program managers, test developers and psychometricians who design, develop and maintain the credentialing exams.
The exams are constructed using rigorous test development best practices to assess whether working professionals have the minimum competencies to perform their jobs. GBCI credentials require ongoing maintenance to encourage credentialed professionals to participate in learning experiences that demonstrate continued competency and up-to-date industry knowledge.
GBCI has received and maintained Personnel Certification accreditation from the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) since 2011. Accreditation ensures that a certification agency meets a recognized standard for the programs and services it employs, and that the certification agency is engaged in continuous review and quality improvement.
A LEED credential denotes proficiency in today’s sustainable design, construction and operations standards. More than 205,000 professionals have earned a LEED credential to help advance their careers. GBCI develops and administers the ANSI-accredited LEED professional credential exams, which include the LEED Green Associate and LEED AP with specialty credentials.
The WELL AP provides professionals with the opportunity to demonstrate advanced knowledge in human health and wellness in the built environment. WELL APs have a documented, full understanding of the industry’s latest principles and practices, along with a specialization in the WELL Building Standard program.
The SITES AP is the first credential specifically targeted to those who work and care for land and its resources and communities. The credential establishes a common framework to define the profession of sustainable landscape design and development, and also provides landscape professionals with the opportunity to demonstrate their knowledge, expertise and commitment to the profession. The exam was built on the expertise of leading practitioners and is intended to test a candidate’s competency to perform the job functions of a SITES AP.
The City Climate Planner program helps city staff and their partners develop the skills needed to advance local climate action in cities worldwide. The Urban Greenhouse Gas Inventory Specialist credential focuses on community-level greenhouse gas emissions inventory accounting, which is a key building block in developing quality climate action plans. It is geared toward practitioners developing city and community-scale greenhouse gas inventories and is based on the Global Protocol for Community-Scale Greenhouse Gas Emission Inventories (GPC), the most comprehensive global protocol for calculating and reporting GHG inventories.
The ISSP-Sustainability Associate (ISSP-SA) and ISSP-Certified Sustainability Professional (ISSP-CSP) credentials provide sustainability practitioners with third-party verification of competency in the field of sustainability. The ISSP-SA and ISSP-CSP provide formal recognition of knowledge, skills and abilities and are designed for sustainability professionals in every industry and region, including those who might not have a sustainability-related job title.
The ISSP Sustainability Associate (ISSP-SA) is designed for emerging sustainability professionals, including students, recent graduates, or professionals looking to incorporate sustainability concepts into their career.
The ISSP Certified Sustainability Professional (ISSP-CSP) designates an individual who has extensive experience in the sustainability field and who can demonstrate professional excellence in several key sustainability areas of practice.
The ISSP-SA and ISSP-CSP credentials were developed by the International Society of Sustainability Professionals, and are owned and administered by GBCI.
Green Raters perform onsite verification services for LEED BD+C: Homes and Lowrise and LEED BD+C: Multifamily Rating Systems. They provide verification services; serve as a liaison between GBCI and the Project Team; and prepare the project’s certification application for review by a LEED for Homes Provider Quality Assurance Designee.
TRUE Advisors are trained on the TRUE Zero Waste Rating System. They understand the rating system's requirements and help projects achieve certification. TRUE Advisors have a practical understanding of the most current zero waste business principles and demonstrate a clear commitment to professional growth in advancing TRUE values.
EDGE Experts are professionals who help a developer, owner and larger project team understand the EDGE standard, software, and certification system. The scope of an EDGE Expert’s work includes advice on green design and assistance with preparation of an application for EDGE certification. EDGE Experts are accredited by IFC, a member of the World Bank Group. GBCI provides training to EDGE Expert candidates.
