Forty-one members of the first class of Certified Green Professionals (CGP) were inducted during a reception at the National Green Building Conference May 10 in New Orleans.

CGP Working Group Chair T.W. Bailey emceed the event while Green Building Subcommittee Chair Ray Tonjes awarded the designees in attendance with CGP pins.

“I’d like to challenge you to go back to your home towns and pass on what you have learned as a teacher, a mentor or an education advocate,”  Bailey told the designees. “As Certified Green Professionals, you have joined the ranks of green building pioneers who are paving the way for the rest of the industry.”

More than 700 people have earned the CGP, NAHB’s newest professional designation, since it was launched at the International Builders’ Show in February. That's 100 more than projected for all of 2008.

The CGP designation teaches builders, remodelers and other industry professionals techniques for incorporating green building principles into homes using cost-effective and affordable options.

Interest in the class is moving beyond green practitioners themselves. 

More than 40 "Green Building For Building Professionals" classes are being scheduled by state and local home building associations between June and November.  The class is required for obtaining the designation.  Most candidates must also complete the Business Management for Building Professionals course as well.

Additional requirements include a minimum of 2 years’ building industry experience, maintaining the required continuing education, adhering to the NAHB code of ethics, and paying graduation or membership fees.

Earning the Certified Green Professional designation is a way to show that the designee is committed to the best and latest in green building practices and techniques and offers proof of a solid background in green building methodology. It also demonstrates that the designee holds his or her work to high standards of professional ethics.

Any home building association, regardless of local program or certification system used, can offer the Green Building for Building Professionals class, though the NAHB Green offerings will be presented and will serve as the technical base for many of the course materials.

To host a class and obtain a list of approved instructors, HBA leaders can contact the University of Housing by calling 800-368-5242 x8154, or sending an e-mail to CGPinfo@nahb.com.

A listing of upcoming course sites is available at: www.nahb.org/cgpinfo.