JEDDAH – Saudi Green Building Forum (SGB Forum), an initiative of Prince Mansour Bin Miteb Bin Abdul Aziz, Minister of Municipal & Rural Affairs, is one of the 54 Authorized Education Delivery Partners of US Green Building Council (USGBC). USGBC, the developer of the LEED green building program, provides top quality educational programs on green design, construction, and operations for professionals in all sectors of the building industry. USGBC Authorized Education Delivery Partners (AEDP) deliver USGBC's curriculum and are taught by USGBC Faculty. SGB Forum is committed to USGBC's mission of transforming the built environment through healthier, greener buildings, home and communities. USGBC provides green building educational programs in a variety of formats for professionals from all sectors of the building industry. All USGBC educational offerings support the LEED professional credentials. LEED workshops are meant to enrich the learner about new trends in green building and keep them updated about new tools and technologies that can facilitate green building development. As an AEDP, SGB Forum is supporting USGBC's mission by providing the most innovative and highest-quality LEED and green building knowledge and training. By offering LEED workshops in Riyadh for Saudi experts and professionals, apart from hosting LEED workshops, SGB Forum intends to use this partnership as a means to build relations and leverage community connections. The SGB Forum Education LEED Workshop has three levels - 100 level is for awareness, 200 level is for the knowledge of core concepts/ strategies and 300 level is for implementation of green building knowledge or concepts or techniques. All LEED courses are approved and are highly advantageous for credential maintenance. "LEED workshops can be really beneficial and enlightening for those professionals who wish to maintain their credentials, require LEED support for their projects, take a LEED exam or increase their knowledge about sustainable building concepts and the LEED rating systems," said Faisal Alfadl, Secretary General of the SGB Forum. The attendees are generally awarded an e-certificate of completion at the end of the workshop which acknowledges that he/she has successfully attended the workshop and gained innovative LEED knowledge. "The Authorized Education Delivery Partner Network enables us to provide USGBC's innovative and valuable curriculum to a rapidly growing global community," said Beth Holst, Vice President for Strategic Alliances and Business Partners at USGBC, pointing out "the SGB Forum will arm Saudi professionals with the resources they need for success." SGB Forum hosted first LEED Training Workshop in Riyadh last May 5, followed by Jeddah on May 6, under the auspices of Prince Turki Bin Nasser Bin Abdul Aziz, President of Presidency of Meteorology & Environment, in which more than 85 professionals attended. – SG
