LEED Professionals Top 20,000 Mark

If there was any question about the rate of growth of the green building movement, one need look no farther than the numbers for the LEED Accredited Professional program.

The number of design and construction professionals that have earned their green stripes by passing USGBC's accreditation program nearly doubled during the past year, from 10,600 in June 2004 to 20,122 in June 2005, according to USGBC.

The rapid growth in LAPs is also evident in BD&C's annual Giants survey of the top 300 AEC firms. Of the nearly 350 firms surveyed, 83% report having at least one LAP on staff, up from 65% in the 2004 survey.

Perkins+Will, Chicago, reports the greatest number of LAPs on staff, with 419, one more than last year's leader, Gensler. HOK more than doubled its number of LAP staff to remain in the top three (see below).

Rudolph and Sletten, Foster City, Calif., made the largest climb up the list, jumping more than 40 spots into the top five after 115 staff members went through the program. Other big gainers: Moseley Architects, Richmond, Va. (79 LAPs, up from 9 in last year's ranking), Sundt Construction, Tempe, Ariz. (70 LAPs, up from 8), and Skidmore Owings & Merrill, Chicago (59 LAPs, up from 11).