It doesn’t matter if you have 28 years of career experience under your belt or whether you’re an engineering student fresh off the convocation platform, there’s a new and growing standard for the building industry that has affected careers considerably in the past few years.

The Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System is transforming the way new buildings are constructed, as well as how the old ones are maintained. The ultimate goal: sustainability.

The Canada Green Building Council adopted the rating system in 2004. By the end of October 2011, more than 3,000 buildings in Canada were registered in the CaGBC database to be certified, with 496 of these having achieved certification.

The growth of LEED is creating a new niche for professionals, be they engineers, architects, interior designers, and more. Some people who deal with LEED through their jobs are becoming certified as LEED Green Associates, an entry-level certification. If a LEED Green Associate needs in-depth knowledge of LEED on the job, he or she can then apply to be a LEED Accredited Professional with a specialty, which may help advance their career.

There are now 18 institutions offering LEED higher education courses across Canada. “It’s important that students are graduating with this knowledge because this is what’s happening in the industry,” said Crystal Finnigan, Higher Education Program Coordinator at the CaGBC. “There are many LEED building being built.”

Mitch Gascoyne, LEED AP and manager of the Sustainable Design Services group at Halcrow Yolles, is the instructor for the LEED Green Building Strategies and Green Associate Exam Preparation course at the University of Toronto. He says LEED grew slowly and steadily when the Canadian Green Building Council first adopted the rating system, but has grown “exponentially” since about 2007.

“Everyone became interested in it and now it’s kind of the de facto standard for building buildings,” explains Gascoyne. “All of the Infrastructure Ontario buildings that come out, these government super projects — hospitals and school buildings — they all have to have LEED mandates on them.

”The thing that is really starting to affect the market is the pursuit of LEED in existing building stock because downtown office buildings need to keep up and compete with other buildings being built downtown. A way of doing that is improving their sustainable performance.”

As the demand for LEED buildings increases, engineers and other industry professionals are becoming more aware of its importance and taking the steps to educate themselves further. Gascoyne said, “If you’re an architect or and engineer, and you’re working with buildings and you have daily interaction with the LEED rating system, (being a LEED AP)  takes it to the next level of detail where you understand  a specific system of LEED.”

Mark Goss understands the opportunity LEED offers. He received his degree in mechanical engineering 28 years ago, and since then has worked for brewing companies, bakeries, pharmaceutical companies, the works. He is now the general manager of operations at the Exhibition Place in Toronto and is managing: 600 kilowatts of TV, a back pressure steam turbine, geothermal technology, smart lighting controls for parking garages, and the task of getting a convention centre LEED accredited. Because of all this, Goss thought it would be “very beneficial to increase my knowledge level.”

It prompted him to take Gascoyne’s preparation course through the School of Continuing Studies at the University of Toronto. He says he expects the experience to impact his career positively. “LEED existing operation and maintenance shows you how to recommission your building and then operate it in an energy efficient manner.”

Goss notes, “Even for the companies that don’t believe in LEED, they like to have somebody with that kind of knowledge for the energy savings they can come up with.”
LEED is increasingly affecting the building industry, and can differentiate prospective employees. Gascoyne said, “If I’m looking at a résumé and the person has LEED designation, it means they took the initiative to go ahead and get the education themselves. They are interested in this type of thing and they know what it takes to get ahead in this industry.”