🌿 LEED AP BD+C — Green Building

An independent, free exam-preparation course for the LEED AP BD+C (Building Design + Construction) credential under LEED v4 and v4.1, built around the publicly published LEED rating system and the USGBC/GBCI credentialing model. It walks through green building principles, the LEED certification process, the integrative process, and all nine credit categories — Location & Transportation, Sustainable Sites, Water Efficiency, Energy & Atmosphere, Materials & Resources, Indoor Environmental Quality, Innovation and Regional Priority — plus prerequisites versus credits, the 110-point scale and the Certified/Silver/Gold/Platinum levels, commissioning, energy modeling, whole-building life-cycle assessment and exam strategy. It uses visual lessons, worked examples, original self-check questions and a 45-question final exam to build exam-ready understanding. It is awareness/prep only — not an official USGBC or GBCI course or the credentialing exam — and claims no USGBC or GBCI affiliation or endorsement. It maps to USGBC/GBCI LEED AP BD+C (LEED v4/v4.1). The course is organized into 22 modules, ending with a final exam (pass mark 80%). It is independent, free exam-preparation training — not an official or accredited review course.

What you'll learn

• Green Building & Why LEED Exists
• Benefits & the Business Case for Green Building
• The LEED Rating Systems & BD+C
• The LEED AP BD+C Credential & Exam
• USGBC vs GBCI & the Certification Process
• The Integrative Process
• Prerequisites, Credits, Points & Categories
• Certification Levels: Certified to Platinum
• Location & Transportation (LT)
• Sustainable Sites (SS)
• Water Efficiency (WE)
• Energy & Atmosphere (EA) — Overview
• Commissioning (Cx)
• Energy Modeling & Optimize Energy Performance
• Renewable Energy & Refrigerant Management
• Materials & Resources (MR)
• Life-Cycle Assessment (LCA)
• Indoor Environmental Quality (EQ)
• Innovation (IN) & the LEED AP Credit
• Regional Priority (RP)
• LEED v4 vs v4.1 & Putting the Scorecard Together
• Exam Strategy & Final Review

Learning objectives

• Understand that this is independent LEED AP BD+C exam-prep over the public LEED rating system, not an official USGBC/GBCI course or the credentialing exam
• Explain what green building is, why LEED exists, and how the BD+C rating systems (NC, Core & Shell, Schools, Retail, Healthcare, Hospitality, Data Centers, Warehouses) are selected
• Describe the LEED certification process — registration with USGBC, documentation, and review/certification by GBCI
• Apply the integrative process: an early, collaborative charrette that optimises green strategies across building systems
• Distinguish prerequisites (mandatory, no points) from credits (optional, point-earning) across all nine categories
• Earn and add points on the 110-point scale and map totals to Certified (40), Silver (50), Gold (60) and Platinum (80+)
• Work the credit categories — Location & Transportation, Sustainable Sites, Water Efficiency, Energy & Atmosphere, Materials & Resources and Indoor Environmental Quality
• Apply commissioning, energy modeling, whole-building life-cycle assessment (LCA) and EPDs to win Energy and Materials points
• Use Innovation and Regional Priority credits, plus the LEED AP credit, to top up a scorecard
• Pass a 45-question exam (80% to earn your certificate)