Scramble for the LEED

"When Harris Ford, a designer at Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects in New Haven, CT, registered for the LEED exam this spring, he was not alone. So many other would-be test takers were also trying to sign up on March 31-the last day to test under the old system, LEED version 2.2, before its upgrade to version 3.0-that they crashed the registration website. "I beat the rush by about 48 hours," Ford said. "At least 25 people in the office registered, even the associates and partners were considering it."

The stream of professionals looking to become LEED accredited has become a flood this spring, as a major overhaul of the exam, combined with a tough economy and buzz about "green collar" jobs has made getting the credential seem increasingly necessary. "Approximately 109,000 people registered for the test between March and June," said Beth Holst, vice president of credentialing at the Green Building Certification Institute (GBCI), which administers the exam. "It's unprecedented. Last year we tested 50,000 people. This year, we're testing 50,000 in the month of June alone.""