The United States Green Building Council (USGBC) now boasts more than 19,000 members, and in March, the USGBC proclaimed that the 5,000^th project had been LEED certified. This number excludes certified new homes. Nearly half of these projects became certified in 2009, a particularly difficult year for the industry.

There are currently close to 20,000 projects that have been registered in over 90 countries. Altogether, commercial building space with LEED certification amounts to more than 5 billion square feet.

Within the United States, the states that have the most LEED certified buildings are as follows (in order):

1. California
2. Florida
3. Texas
4. New York
5. Illinois
6. Washington
7. Pennsylvania
8. Michigan
9. Colorado
10. Oregon

California has over 800 certified buildings, and number two Florida has just over 300.

With over 135,000 LEED-credentialed professionals, green building represents an opportunity for job growth, particularly in the greenest states.

According to the Green Building Certification Institute, as of February 10, 2010, the largest numbers of LEED APs were Architects, with almost 39,904. Next was Construction Management professionals with 18,573.

As the demand for LEED certified buildings continues to spiral, the number of professionals needed to service this growth will likewise increase. Look for more and more real estate brokers, attorneys, and appraisers to become certified as demand for expertise in the industry extends to the professions that are tangentially related to design and construction.

-Jonathan Fischer, MAI

Jonathan Fischer, MAI, is a Managing Director in NAI Global’s New York City office and works with investors and financial institutions as a member of NAI’s Special Asset Solutions group.