The Green Building Certification Institute (GBCI) announced that three of its LEED Professional Credentials have earned accreditation under the American National Standards Institute's (ANSI) Accreditation Program for Personnel Certification Bodies.

"More than 170,000 professionals have proven their commitment to green building through LEED accreditation," said Beth Holst, Vice President of Credentialing at GBCI. "ANSI accreditation validates the integrity of our processes under an international standard. It reinforces the superior standard of LEED Credentials and the professionals who hold them." With the announcement, the LEED AP Building Design + Construction, LEED AP Interior Design + Construction and LEED AP Neighborhood Development credentials join LEED AP Operations + Maintenance, LEED AP Homes and LEED Green Associate in this prestigious category. The latter LEED Professional Credentials earned ANSI accreditation in March 2011.

LEED Professional Credentials provide employers, clients, policymakers and other stakeholders with assurances of an individual's competencies, and are the mark of the most qualified, educated and influential green building professionals in the marketplace.

GBCI stands among an elite group of 34 personnel certification bodies in a range of industry sectors that have achieved ANSI accreditation since the program's inception in 2003. ANSI accreditation is designed to increase the integrity, confidence and mobility of certified professionals and is based on the American National Standard and international standard ANSI/ISO/IEC 17024, Conformity assessment - General requirements for bodies operating certification of persons. ANSI is the only personnel certification accreditation body in the U.S. to fulfill the requirements of ISO/IEC 17011:2004, Conformity assessment - General requirements for accreditation bodies accrediting conformity assessment bodies, which represents the highest internationally accepted practices for accreditation bodies.

"ANSI commends GBCI for demonstrating their commitment to the continual improvement of their credentialing programs," said Dr. Roy Swift, ANSI senior director of personnel credentialing accreditation programs. "This achievement marks the culmination of a multi-month effort to demonstrate compliance to a rigorous internationally recognized accreditation process. Accreditation by ANSI creates a valuable distinction for GBCI's credentialing programs that extends through the service network - from certification body, to certification holder, to employer, to the public they serve."