Green Advantage is an international, non-profit educational and credentialing body. Established in 1996, it provides educational materials and three ANSI-accredited credentials to construction industry personnel.
To ensure workers possess the knowledge, skills, and abilities needed for successful project delivery, Green Advantage focuses its efforts on credentialing the construction workforce to deliver state-of-the-art high performance, healthy buildings.
Soon after its founding, Green Advantage was awarded a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) grant to develop a green credential for construction workers. It has also enjoyed funding support from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), The Nature Conservancy, and the Ford Foundation. With the help of its boards, staff, and volunteers the three ANSI-accredited credentials Green Advantage currently offers are:
- The Green Advantage Certified Practitioner (GACP). This credential is designed for residential and commercial construction supervisory personnel in the U.S. and Canada. Applicable across trades and regardless of the green building rating system, standard or code utilized, the GACP requires candidates to pass a written exam to demonstrate familiarity with state-of-the-art green construction means, methods, materials, as well as over 800 green building best practices, supported by over 2,200 references.
- The Green Advantage Certified Associate (GACA). This credential is designed for residential and commercial construction field personnel in the U.S. and Canada. The GACA requires candidates to pass a written exam to demonstrate familiarity with a subset of the GACP standards, with over 300 green building best practices and over 1,400 references.
- The Pre-construction Risk Assessment/Infection Control Risk Assessment (PCRA/ICRA) Certificate Program. This credential is targeted to U.S. healthcare pre-construction, construction and maintenance workers. The PCRA/ICRA Certificate Program requires familiarity with the means, methods, materials and best practices associated with healthcare facility risk assessment and basic infection control. The 12 hour webinar training concludes with an exam. Candidates who attend the training and pass the exam are awarded a certificate.
Top quality buildings require top quality builders.
To ensure that these workers possess the knowledge, skills, and abilities needed for successful project delivery, Green Advantage focuses its efforts on credentialing the construction workforce to deliver state-of-the-art high performance, healthy buildings.
Soon after its founding in 1996, Green Advantage was awarded a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) grant to develop a green credential for construction workers. It has also enjoyed funding support from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), The Nature Conservancy, and the Ford Foundation. With the help of its boards, staff, and volunteers Green Advantage offers three ANSI-accredited credentials for use in the construction industry:
- The Green Advantage Certified Practitioner (GACP) is designed for residential and commercial construction supervisory personnel in the U.S. and Canada. Applicable across trades and regardless of the green building rating system, standard or code utilized, the GACP requires candidates to pass a written exam to demonstrate familiarity with state-of-the-art green construction means, methods, materials, as well as over 800 green building best practices, supported by over 2,200 references.
- The Green Advantage Certified Associate (GACA) is designed for residential and commercial construction field personnel in the U.S. and Canada. The GACA requires candidates to pass a written exam to demonstrate familiarity with a subset of the GACP standards, with over 300 green building best practices and over 1,400 references.
- The Pre-construction Risk Assessment/Infection Control Risk Assessment (PCRA/ICRA) Certificate Program is targeted to U.S. healthcare pre-construction, construction and maintenance workers. The PCRA/ICRA Certificate Program requires familiarity with the means, methods, materials and best practices associated with healthcare facility risk assessment and basic infection control. The 12 hour webinar training concludes with an exam. Candidates who attend the training and pass the exam are awarded a certificate.
About ANSI
The Institute is the official U.S. representative to the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and, via the U.S. National Committee, the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), and is a U.S. representative to the International Accreditation Forum (IAF).
Organizations designated to display the ANSI seal must continuously maintain benchmark performance criteria and quality levels stipulated by the institute as well as national and international standards. Its mission is “to enhance both the global competitiveness of U.S. business and the U.S. quality of life by promoting and facilitating voluntary consensus standards and conformity assessment systems, and safeguarding their integrity.”
Green Advantage Commitment to ANSI Standards
By its attainment of ANSI accreditation for its three credentials, Green Advantage demonstrates its commitment to impartiality and fairness in carrying out its credentialing activities, managing conflict of interest and ensuring objectivity.
Green Advantage Request for Inputs about its Credential Development
As its credentials are created and updated, Green Advantage welcomes any inputs from the public in developing its standards. If you have credential-related job descriptions, nominations for participation on credentialing boards, or other inputs you would like to share, please contact ces@greenadvantage.org and type “Green Advantage Inputs” in the subject line. Thank you.