40,000 LEED APs and Counting

During the past year, more than 15,000 design and construction professionals in the U.S. earned their green stripes by becoming accredited through the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED Accredited Professionals program. Some 40,000 AEC professionals are now accredited through the USGBC, up from 25,000 last year, according to the Washington, D.C.-based organization.

Since 2004, BD+C has tracked the number of LEED APs within the nation’s largest AEC firms as part of its annual Giants 300 survey (see special pullout poster and accompanying charts starting on page 41). Of the 348 firms surveyed this year, 93% report having at least one LEED AP on staff, and 58% say they have 10 or more LEED APs.

For the third year running, Chicago-based Perkins+Will takes the top spot on BD+C’s top 50 Building Team LEED APs ranking, with 753 green building pros on staff. More than 300 P+W staffers became accredited during the past 12 months, the result of a corporate mandate, says communications manager Katie McGee.

Mithun, Seattle, has the highest percentage of LEED APs on staff. More than two-thirds (69.5%) of firm’s total staff is accredited. Perkins+Will (60.9%), LPA (59.2%), CUH2A (43.5%), and Gould Evans Associates (40.5%) round out the top five.