Society of Environmentally Responsible Facilities (SERF) Launches SP Professional Accreditation Program

Program offered in partnership with Centre for Sustainability and Excellence for professional designation in green building certification

Chicago – The Society of Environmentally Responsible Facilities (SERF), an environmental building certification organization, in partnership with the Centre for Sustainability and Excellence (CSE), today announced the launch of a new accreditation program that certifies professionals to evaluate buildings’ sustainable systems and practices  according to SERF’s comprehensive certification criteria. Candidates who successfully complete the program will earn the designation of SERF Professional (SP). Additionally, CSE will be verifiers for the SERF certification process.

“At SERF, we believe that building owners and facility managers should be committed to broad, ongoing environmental sustainability, and our goal is to make certifying that process more affordable, streamlined and accessible as possible,” said Joe Maguire, president of SERF. “By creating this program with the CSE and growing the number of SERF Professionals, we hope to cultivate and recognize more sustainably-focused facilities.”

In order to attain the designation, an individual must complete CSE’s full-day course in sustainable systems and practices with an emphasis on how those elements are evaluated within SERF’s comprehensive certification criteria. The SP designation is earned upon completing the program and passing the course examination. Beginning February 2013, only SPs will have the authority to provide the required third-party verification for SERF Certification.

“CSE, as one of the leading accredited sustainability training and consulting providers in North America and globally, will produce and deliver the accreditation program to real estate professionals nationwide,” said Nikos Avlonas, president of CSE. “We support SERF’s goal to recognize environmentally-conscience structures. Offering this program is a natural extension of CSE’s mission to help further integrate sustainable principles into our culture.”

The first accreditation course will take place in January 2013 at the DIRTT’s Chicago Green Learning Center.  DIRTT (Doing It Right This Time) is a provider of environmental sustainable modular interiors solutions for the built environment. Other dates and locations will be announced in the coming months. Course times and locations will be posted online by SERF (www.SERFgreen.org) and CSE (www.cse-net.org).

About SERF
SERF makes environmental certification more streamlined, affordable and accessible to building owners, managers and developers. SERF leverages its certification program to advance the concept of Practical Environmental Stewardship™. Since its inception in 2010, SERF has certified properties in Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, Michigan, North Carolina, Ohio, South Carolina, Pennsylvania and Texas. For more information about SERF, please visit SERFgreen.org or connect with SERF on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.

To register to the SERF Professional (SP) Training click here