SBA Curriculum

Requiring no pre-requisite green building education or experience, the Sustainable Building Advisor Program is a nine-month certification course focused on the practical, forward-thinking ways to design, construct and manage buildings that are resource efficient, environmentally responsible, cost effective, and healthy for all occupants. Sustainable Building Advisor graduates include architects, engineers, realtors, planners, builders, developers and many others – even those who want to change their career or start a new one.

The SBA Program provides students with the knowledge, tools and resources to accomplish the following:

Identify and articulate key sustainable building practices and goals;
Analyze the costs and benefits of implementation;
Work with designers, architects, builders, operators, and utility managers to achieve sustainable building goals for their projects;
Apply LEED, Built Green, and other relevant criteria and established guidelines effectively; and
Take a leadership position in their organization and community in a rapidly growing field.

Upon completion of the course and CSBA Exam, students earn the designation of Certified Sustainable Building Advisor (CSBA), which is a recognized green building professional certification across North America.

Program Outline

UNIT 1: Fundamentals of Sustainable Building and Design

The ’case’ or rationale for green building.
A view of the current state of green building in the region and nationally.
The principles of sustainable design.
An introduction to the practicum project.

UNIT 2: The Importance of Place: Site, Transportation and Land Use Issues

An introduction to sustainable site design.
An understanding of the site planning process.
Sustainable site analysis and conducting a site assessment.
Importance of transportation planning, siting, relationship to sustainability.
Strategies to achieve sustainable transportation patterns and site development.

UNIT 3: Energy Efficient Design

How the design of building energy systems impacts the human experience and the global environment.
The value of contextual, holistic approach to building energy system design.
How a building dynamically interacts with its occupants and the local climate, including renewable energy flows.
Fundamental building energy systems, including HVAC and lighting.

UNIT 4: 'Green' Materials Selection

Factors in material selection and the issue of trade-offs.
Resources to assist in determining materials appropriateness.
Analytical process to evaluate materials for a project.
Material considerations when using the LEED™ rating program.
Material considerations when designing a green home.

UNIT 5: Indoor Environmental Quality and Health

Benefits of improving indoor environmental quality.
Common indoor air pollutants.
Barriers and solutions to achieving good indoor air.
Implementation issues to help achieve good quality indoor air.
Ventilation system design strategies.
Linkages between health, well-being and productivity.
Physical, psychological and financial benefits of daylight and view.

UNIT 6: Water and Site Design

Benefits of adopting a natural systems-based approach.
Sustainable site development patterns.
Impact reduction through landscape layout, plant selection and placement.
Outdoor water conservation strategies and practices.
On-site management methods for storm water and wastewater.
Indoor water conservation.

UNIT 7: Sustainable Job Site Operations

Construction waste management, site protection and IAQ protection.
Incorporating green building materials.
Planning and practices for sustainable construction.

UNIT 8: Building Operations and Maintenance

Facility management (FM) functions, duties of FM department, FM professionals, and FM position in sustainability.
Building Commission (Cx): what it is, how it is accomplished, and its critical importance to the performance of a building.
Effective operations and maintenance.
Effective training programs within a building.

UNIT 9: Presentation of Team Projects and Graduation

To receive local certification, students will be required to demonstrate understanding and competencies of the course material through participation in small group project presentations and written papers. Presentation and written papers will be scored on a pass-fail basis.