The newly incorporated Green Building Certification Institute (GBCI) has been established with the support of the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) to develop and administer credentialing programs aimed at improving green building practice.

Peter Templeton, vice president of education and research for the USGBC, said that credentialing programs support strategies for increasing and measuring the performance of buildings and communities as defined by measurement systems such as the LEED Green Building Rating System. He also said that GBCI will ensure that the LEED Accredited Professional (LEED AP) program will continue to be developed in accordance with best practices for credentialing programs.

To underscore this commitment, GBCI will itself undergo the ANSI accreditation process for personnel certification agencies complying with ISO Standard 17024.

In January 2008, USGBC will transfer responsibility for the ongoing administration of the LEED professional accreditation program to GBCI, which will manage all aspects of the LEED AP program including development, registration and delivery of examinations, as well as the maintenance program for LEED AP credential holders.

The GBCI website, www.gbci.org, provides information for LEED Accredited Professionals and candidates.

LEED Accredited Professionals will not be affected by this change.