Between October 2018 and April 2020, I was involved as an instructor in a LEED Lab program in India. Having been a green building consultant for several years, I find LEED a familiar domain. Teaching, however, was something new—exciting and rewarding, but also complex and demanding.

LEED Lab, unlike many other subjects taught in academia, is not limited to theory. There is a large practical component to it, because at the end of the day, the project is expected to be LEED-certified.

There are marked differences in the approach to LEED certification in a professional setting versus an academic setting. In the professional setting, LEED certification is the main goal, and your job as a consultant is to provide LEED-specific guidance to professionals who are experts in their domain. In contrast, in an academic setting, the LEED coach must be acutely aware that although certification is the final intent, a primary goal is also for students to learn about LEED and green building, and then process and apply their learning toward achieving certification for their "lab."

In the same way that I was navigating the academic world, there may be other academics involved in LEED Lab programs who are navigating the professional dimension of the program. With the pointers below, based on my experience running the program, I hope to assist those professors in streamlining the certification process.

1. Consider that your students are specialists.

In a professional setting, various experts work together to certify a building. Each stakeholder, managing a different aspect of a project, is responsible for one or more LEED credits that they manage until certification. The architect is responsible for design-related credits, the mechanical engineer for HVAC-related credits and so on.

Every LEED Lab student should be aware of the basics of the LEED rating system, such as its concepts, features and certification process, but given the limited time available, don't expect that every student will know everything about it. It makes sense for all students to learn the basics, and then to ask each student, or a small group of students, to focus on one or more credits and take the lead on them. Each student, as a specialist on their credit, will then be able to assess the building regarding the requirements of their credit. Just as in a professional setting, regular progress updates can be arranged to keep the class informed about what their classmates are doing.

2. Ensure that the facility management team is aware that they will be an integral part of the process.

Since LEED Lab uses the LEED for Operations and Maintenance (O+M) rating system for certification, almost all of the credits are related to facility management. Therefore, it is important for the facility management team of the building to be willing to cooperate. It is also likely that there will be modifications to the way they operate, so they need to be open to change. Students may collect data, assess conditions and make recommendations, but it is the facility management team who have to put these recommendations into practice—an important step in the certification process. Having to work with unresponsive management can adversely affect student morale and delay the certification process.

3. Begin with work on credits that may require additional investment in equipment or infrastructure.

The building that you are working on may already have all the infrastructure required for LEED Lab in place. However, it is likely that if the building has not already been built to LEED standards, some investment will be required. Any such investment takes time to process, so start with work on prerequisites that require equipment or infrastructure: Ensure that electric meters and water meters are installed; undertake ventilation calculations to confirm that spaces comply to standards, and initiate civil or mechanical work if required; implement waste recycling; and establish sustainable transportation options for travel to and from the project.

4. Expect policy writing to require some hand-holding, but also expect to be pleasantly surprised.

For professionals who are experts in their field, developing policies is an essential component of their work. This task tends to be much more difficult for students, especially at the undergraduate level, since they are not conversant with dictating terms and conditions.

Credits that require the creation of policies should definitely be allocated to students who have a good handle on the language. Even then, expect to spend additional time guiding them and extensively editing the policies.

That being said, also expect to be pleasantly surprised by your students. Since the program is experiential in nature, most students find LEED Lab very interesting. They put a lot of thought and effort into their work, and more often than not, come up with wonderful observations and ideas.

Learn more about LEED Lab

LEED Lab: 4 pointers for approaching it like a pro