January 25, 2011

2010 was a busy year! The design and construction industry continued to be impacted hard. Most of the market segments began to stabilize, and some even started to see upward growth. One thing that was consistent, regardless of market segments, was that the interest in sustainable and construction remained strong. With almost 7,000 projects registered under the LEED systems in 2010, there are now over 39,000 projects seeking LEED Certification. Even more important, almost 3,500 projects achieved LEED Certification in 2010 - equating to over 650 million square feet.

Use of the various 2009 LEED Rating Systems became more prevalent during 2010 as new projects began on the drawing boards. Much of the hype and fear regarding the new LEED Minimum Project Requirements was shown to be unfounded as stakeholders and volunteers continued to contribute and work out the kinks. Some interesting lawsuits regarding LEED were filed, but the validity is still to be determined.

The LEED Credential Maintenance Program continued to grow, again showing that the fear regarding availability was unfounded. Over 1,500 courses have now been approved for LEED Credential Maintenance and the list of Education Providers has grown to over 400. Does it strike anyone else as strange that there is so much fear regarding LEED in our industry, especially considering that LEED is a voluntary program? It may be that the economy still has everyone worried and that LEED is an easy target. But as we saw again and again in 2010, the volunteers and staff of USGBC and GBCI continued to incorporate comments and refine the LEED rating systems, and make them more efficient and practical.

By this summers end, many LEED AP's will have to decide whether they will opt-in to the new LEED Credential Program or remain a LEED AP with no specialty (and no continuing education requirements). If they choose not to opt-in, the only way to earn the new LEED AP with Specialty credential will be through testing anew. While the difference between a LEED AP and a LEED AP+ may seem minor now, this gap is going to continue to widen in the years to come. After all, as an Owner, would you want a LEED AP on your project who hasn't necessarily kept up to date with the changes in the industry?

On a personal level, Axiom celebrated its second birthday this year. In 2010 our e-mail distribution list grew to over 20,000 subscribers. Our webinar offerings continued to be in high demand nationwide, expanding our reach to those interested in LEED continuing education and allowing us to reach over 1,500 attendees throughout 2010.

In 2011, we are introducing several new courses this year. Some of these are included below and registration will open in mid-February. We have also partnered with several subject matter experts to help us continue to expand our catalog and educational offerings. And of course we will continue our newsletter in 2011 - after all, over half a million e-mails can't be wrong!

Lastly, I am personally grateful to each and every one of you that have supported me in this crazy endeavor I call Axiom throughout the last year. Education continues to be a passion of mine and Axiom is the mechanism that makes it a reality. But without you, this would not have been possible!

Best Wishes in 2011! 

Michael A. Kawecki, GA-C, LEED AP BD+C, ID+C, O+M 
Owner/ Axiom Sustainable Consulting, LLC