Blog Post

Why doesn't USGBC sell a PDF of the LEED Reference Guide?

 7/1/09 Update: If you are looking to learn about the LEED 2009 rating systems, there's no better tool out there than our own LEEDuser.com, which was launched since this post was made. LEEDuser makes the LEED credit language available online, which is a great step up, in my book! In studying for the LEED-AP exam, the best advice I received was to read the U.S. Green Building Council's LEED for New Construction Reference Guide version 2.2 -- and read it again, and memorize as much specific credit by credit information as possible. Since passing the exam, that's become the advice I give most often. I'm glad I work at a company, BuildingGreen, that already has a copy of the Reference Guide in its library and supports firmwide studying for the exam, because the cost of the guide is $150 plus $7.50 shipping. You can download other LEED-related documents, but non-members looking to learn more about LEED and potentially take the test can't download a copy. Let's look at the other costs USGBC puts in the way of the LEED-curious:
  • Taking the exam is $300 for USGBC members and $400 for non-members. I hope you pass the first time, but a lot of people don't and pay that fee again.
  • USGBC course on "Essentials of LEED Professional Accreditation" -- $150 for USGBC members, $200 for non-members. Optional but helpful.
  • Additional study materials or courses -- anywhere from $50 to $1,000 and up.
The LEED-NC 2.2 Reference Guide, all three pounds of it (yes, I weighed it), should be available as a PDF. There aren't any downloadable resources that offer the detail that it offers for LEED practitioners and potential LEED practitioners (the LEED candidate handbook is helpful but far from essential). Sure, sell it to recoup costs of writing it and maintaining the LEED rating systems, but sell a PDF at a lower cost to:
  • Making it easier for people to get familiar with LEED, expanding the green audience
  • Save the financial and environemental costs of printing, shipping, and disposal. It's already in its third edition and is about to be eclipsed by LEED 2009. Get with the digital age, USGBC.
Will people pass it around to each other for free, depriving the USGBC of revenue? Sure. Is that a problem? Maybe, maybe not. If there is that much demand, then USGBC should be capitalizing on that by signing up new members, certifying more projects, and gaining more LEED APs, all of which it is doing fairly successfully -- so why not open up the tent for more. A lower price of entry will make also make LEED more sustainable when the slowing economy takes its toll on green building. Finally, they can mitigate any revenue lost by updating the reference guide more frequently with key CIRs, policy changes, innovation credits, improvements to the writing, and, even better advice on how to actually achieve credits -- thus making purchase even more essential. Because once you've earned that LEED-AP credential, the work has just begun.

Published June 12, 2008

(2008, June 12). Why doesn't USGBC sell a PDF of the LEED Reference Guide?. Retrieved from https://www.buildinggreen.com/blog/why-doesnt-usgbc-sell-pdf-leed-reference-guide

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Comments

BuildingGreen Basic Member

January 23, 2009 - 7:12 pm

While preparing slides for a LEED training session I'm putting together, I stumbled upon a section of the certification information page that shows review delay estimates that are updated on a weekly basis (scroll down to the "Review Timelines" section). I've reported on this anecdotally in the past (June '08, August '08), but now you can view estimates straight from the USGBC.
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BuildingGreen Basic Member

July 21, 2008 - 5:39 pm

The USGBC doesn't offer a pdf version for exactly the reason stated above that they are a company out to turn a profit. LEED reference guides are also very expensive. Now with so many no new versions out it's difficult to keep up. I guarantee that clients will ask for LEED for homes or LEED Core & Shell at one time or another and you'll need to buy a copy. Testing is also expensive but there are people like myself that have spent over 100 hours to prepare practice questions to geniunely help others study. I can't give them away but I don't charge alot either. For just 20 dollars I sell 240 practice questions, flashcards and more to people prepare so that they shouldn't have to retest once or even three times at 300 dollars a pop. All my information is designed with LEED NC the common type of rating system used. Check out LEEDAPHELP.com do yourself a favor.

BuildingGreen Basic Member

June 12, 2008 - 12:47 pm

The manual is available in pdf format for free to members. You just have to know where to find it.

BuildingGreen Basic Member

June 12, 2008 - 11:15 am

Sell a PDF of the USGBC LEED Reference Guide? Of all the things I can think of that would lend credibility to the whole endeavor and support its acceptance as a reference standard and encourage the adoption of its principles, the USGBC should GIVE IT AWAY!
I'm all for doing whatever we can to make the world a better place, but their whole submittal process for project certification is arduous and expensive; making people pay to even study the material to take their test for their gratuitous accreditation in their credit system is beyond hubris.

BuildingGreen Basic Member

June 12, 2008 - 12:08 pm

USGBC Member organizations do have access to a non-printable PDF version of the Reference Guide, and this is also available to persons who sign up for Technical Review classes.

BuildingGreen Basic Member

June 13, 2008 - 9:43 am

They do have PDF's of the reference guide available... I'm not sure where this info is coming from, but every reference guide I've purchased (2 to date) has come with a non-printable PDF attached with it. In fact, by purchasing the first edition of the NC 2.2 reference guide, I have access to PDF's of the later versions online...

I do echo the desire for all educational materials to be free. I think the cost of certification/membership should be raised to cover any losses the USGBC may suffer. This desire for access to free LEED information is what prompted me to start my blog, http://www.reallifeleed.com.

At the same time, the cost of entry isn't that high given that over $50,000 have paid for and earned the LEED AP designation.

BuildingGreen Basic Member

March 11, 2009 - 7:31 am

Two examples of irony:
1. The Green Building Council's bottom line has swallowed its core values. Doesn't this remind you of the hypocrisy of people like Al Gore who fly around in jets all day?
2. Now I have signed up to take a test that I can't afford the study materials for. I assumed that the materials were free or at least affordable. I am a sucker.

BuildingGreen Basic Member

March 3, 2009 - 9:07 am

Not to through a big wrench out there, but there are websites that "convert" pdfs from one version to another for free. This conversion usually unlocks any security... that in turn takes a non-printable pdf and makes it a printable pdf.

I agree that they amount of money and strict exam passing criteria (when you are just going to use the book in practice, anyway) is ridiculous.

BuildingGreen Basic Member

June 17, 2008 - 12:15 pm

The old Sustainable Buildings Technical Manual is available free to members as a PDF, which is not so directly useful to study to become an AP.

To obtain a PDF of a Reference Guide for one of the LEED rating systems, you need to buy the print version. Currently only the LEED CI Reference Guide is available in non-printable, non-downloadable format for free.

So the original question is on-point - there should be a paperless option, free or not.

BuildingGreen Basic Member

June 18, 2008 - 1:14 pm

Each of those paper Guides sequesters a little bit of carbon, so buy several of them (& don't burn them). :)