SBA Program

The SBA Program has been running for over ten years, and is currently offered at 28 locations in North America. Since 1999, over 1950 students have graduated from the course; since 2005, more than 1250 graduates have passed the professional exam to earn the credential of Certified Sustainable Building Advisor (CSBA).

The SBA Program is designed to be national and local at the same time. The course is certified nationally and taught locally by experienced professionals, and students benefit from this combination of national development and regional delivery. The national curriculum is updated annually, so instructors have access to up-to-the-moment aspects of green building; in addition, instructors are encouraged to supplement the national curriculum with a regional perspective.

The relationships that result from taking the program are as important as the content of the program. Not only do our students get the opportunity to engage with the accomplished individuals who teach the class, but they also get the opportunity to interact with and learn from like-minded peers from all areas of building: design, construction, operations and maintenance, policy development, etc. In addition to working with each other in class, a number of our graduates have gone on to work together on projects, recommend each other for jobs, and even hire each other. As this community grows, the impact on the built environment grows.

There are no specific prerequisites for the program. All that is required is a desire to learn about high performance, low impact and cost effective buildings. Our students include architects, engineers, realtors, planners, builders, and developers, as well as individuals who are looking to jump-start or change their career.

“The SBA course is essential for government employees who create green building programs for their customers. Public sector employees who permit building developments in their jurisdictions will surely gain a wide-ranging knowledge of green building practices through taking this course. An SBA certification for government employees will also allow them to educate their co-workers - to help build their own green building programs within their jurisdictions.”

Cynthia Moffit, Project Manager, King County GreenTools, Seattle, WA

“I have taken many continuing education courses and seminars, but never have I experienced an instructor and Guest Speakers with such dedication and passion for the subject. Upon learning that several papers would be required in order to successfully complete the course, I admit to being less than enthusiastic. However, the discipline of applying the concepts to our group project proved to be the ideal way to understand how sustainable issues learned in class must be tailored to affect real projects. In the end, organizing my thoughts and writing the papers proved to be an enjoyable process.”

Architect, Hoshide Williams Architects

“It was great to meet other professionals in the field through the class members and guest lecturers… The other piece that surprised me was how meaningful it became to have a class project that involved community partners. Early on, our group decided that we wanted to use our research, no matter how basic, to help a non-profit. In our desire to "do good" in the community, we received some great feedback and met some very interesting people.”

Julie Krieg, J.Krieg Architects, Bainbridge Island, WA

“My transition from the technology sector to resource conservation was a combination of work experience, course work, and networking. The SBA course gave me the tools to intelligently discuss sustainable design and energy management with my local contacts in the green energy business. My SBA final project involved the design of an elementary school in Bellevue, WA, which was a great advantage in landing an internship as a Resource Conservation Manager with the Lake Washington School District in nearby Redmond, WA. This practical RCM experience, coupled with the knowledge of integrated design principles from my SBA course work, was instrumental in getting hired in my current position as Jefferson County Resource Conservation Manager.”

Brian Goldstein, Jefferson County Resource Conservation Manager 2011

“Over the last 2 years I have been responsible for developing guidelines, providing green building assistance to state projects and reporting to the Governor and legislature on the implementation for ESSB5509, the law that requires LEED Silver certification for all state funded projects. The SBA Program was critical in launching my green building career and in turn has been important in the implementation of our LEED Silver law.”

Stuart Simpson, CEM, LEED AP, State of Washington Dept. of General Administration

"What was especially valuable was the lens of sustainable critical thinking that the course enabled me to look through. Even more valuable since graduating has been the connections and friendships that I made during the nine month program. Both my classmates and the instructors have been available to provide a variety of insights, information, feedback, and additional questions.”

Joseph A. Fullerton, Green Building and Environmental Specialist City of Santa Cruz, CA Planning and Community Development

“[Through the course] I was able to realize my strengths and weaknesses in green building and improve in each area. I've had at least one person say when reviewing my resume that it"s very evident that I am interested in continually growing my green building education, a fact which made that person approach me over someone else for a contracting opportunity.”

Rebecca Anderson, CSBA, LEED AP, O&M Environmental Specialist, University of California, Berkeley

“The SBA Program was an incredible experience for me. The instructors are people you would be lucky to see in a keynote address at a large conference. We got to spend half a day with most of them, and they all offered us their business cards in case we wanted to contact them. There is no price you can put on the relationships that were made in the class. We agreed to stay in touch and get together every few months after graduation. The 9 months went by way too fast.”

Graduate, Vancouver 2009