A few months ago, we evaluated the 40 Under 40 award winners from Consulting-Specifying Engineer, a trade publication and website for professional engineers who design mechanical, electrical, electronic, and related systems for commercial, industrial, and institutional projects. Our analysis showed that 62.5% of the honorees held a LEED AP BD+C or a LEED AP credential. We’ve found similar statistics to be true of the architectural, engineering, and construction (AEC) industry as a whole. Let’s see how AEC professionals fared.

This research came from the BD+C 40 Under 40 class of 2015. Building Design+Construction is a trade magazine catered to AEC professionals with the goal of inspiring building teams to design and construct “great places for great people.” The BD+C website highlights news involving various building sectors and occupations.

Like the post from the Consulting-Specifying Engineer, the post from BD+C provides an opportunity for each honoree to be featured, complete with professional achievements and wacky tidbits about their personal lives. Each BD+C honoree is listed with a creative title – Marcia Alvarado is the Structural Superstar and Akilah W. Darden is the Super Mom/Super Exec, for example.

But perhaps the most incredible similarity between the two lists is the fact that, yet again, exactly 62.5% of the honorees held a LEED credential! There doesn’t appear to be ANY crossover among the list of honorees.

So in both cases, 25 recipients (of the 40) held a LEED professional credential. Once again, I think this speaks volumes to the value of LEED in the engineering and building communities. What are the chances that two trade publications would develop unique lists of their top 40 under 40 only to also yield the same number of LEED accredited professionals among the list? Pretty crazy.

What I also found interesting about the BD+C list was the variety of LEED credentials represented. Unlike Consulting-Specifying Engineer, which seemed to list only those with the LEED AP BD+C credential or the older LEED AP credential, the BD+C list also includes LEED Green Associate and LEED AP O+M. This goes to show that not everyone needs to pursue a LEED AP credential; the entry-level LEED Green Associate credential can take you places in your career.

Here was the breakdown of LEED credentials in the BD+C list:

Once again, we’d like to congratulate all the professionals listed on BOTH lists. It’s so lovely to learn about others’ accomplishments and to see the progress that everyone is making toward a more sustainable society. We’re all working toward the same goal, and these lucky few have done a great job of being leaders in the industry.

And finally, on a somewhat personal note, we’d also like to take a moment to congratulate Blake Jackson, one of our LEED webinar students, for landing a spot on the BD+C 40 Under 40 list! Blake has gone on to achieve his LEED AP BD+C credential and is doing some big things in the Boston area, so congrats to you!!