Certification Partner Programs

SWA’s certification services encompass multiple Partner Programs and are available to all client markets.

From the first sheet of paperwork to the final plaque on the wall, we navigate our clients through all the phases of becoming  LEED® certified and earning the ENERGY STAR® label, including HERS indexing. For single and multifamily residential buildings, SWA also offers support for Enterprise Green Communities and Passive House US certification.

For every program, the certification process includes preliminary design/operations meetings, extensive energy consulting services, and complete certification documentation, administration, and implementation oversight.

Achieving LEED® Certification

SWA has offered Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) services since 2000, when the U.S. Green Building Council first began to certify projects under this groundbreaking green building rating system.

LEED is a nationally-accepted benchmark for the design, construction and operation of high performance green buildings. The rating system assigns points in six main categories: Site Selection, Water Efficiency, Energy & Atmosphere, Materials & Resources, Indoor Environmental Quality, and Innovation & Design Process. Buildings can earn Certified, Silver, Gold or Platinum level certification, depending on the quantity and quality of measures pursued.

The U.S. Green Building Council currently certifies projects through nine different LEED rating systems:

• LEED® for New Construction & Major Renovations™
• LEED® for Core & Shell™
• LEED® for Commercial Interiors™
• LEED® for Existing Buildings: Operations & Maintenance™
• LEED® for Schools™
• LEED® for Homes™
• LEED® for Retail: New Construction™
• LEED® for Retail: Commercial Interiors™
• LEED® for Neighborhood Development™

Earning the ENERGY STAR®

Offered jointly by the U.S .Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Energy, the ENERGY STAR label can be earned by single and multifamily homes, a range of commercial and industrial building types, and even individual retail products (such as appliances).

The ENERGY STAR rating system is centered on encouraging buildings in every market sector to adopt energy-saving practices, upgrade to high efficiency appliances and products, and ultimately, reduce environmental pollution as we also reduce the amount of money that Americans spend on superfluous fuel every year.

As one of ENERGY STAR’s oldest Rater Partners, SWA has the depth of experience needed to provide timely yet thorough upgrades and documentation that facilitate earning the ENERGY STAR label for our clients. More importantly, our benchmarking and recommendation process is performed by engineers who understand the ENERGY STAR rating system not only as a checklist, but also as an opportunity to save our clients money and make their buildings more comfortable, durable spaces.

For residential customers, SWA auditors and raters are RESNET certified to generate a HERS Index for your new construction to get a clear idea of its energy efficiency. HERS ratings also provide a means of comparing the relative energy efficiency of different houses across the nation.

Becoming an Enterprise Green Community

Throughout SWA’s history, we have worked to bring sustainable building practices to the field of affordable housing, a market that is important to the viability of our communities. SWA works closely with affordable housing developers to identify the most cost effective, energy efficient and sustainable design and operations strategies. We pride ourselves on providing our clients with healthy and durable housing that meets or exceeds rating system benchmarks and local green guidelines. SWA further works to gain financial incentives and rebates for clients to offset the costs of sustainable design and maintenance practices. SWA has been actively involved in working with Green Communities Criteria, a framework created by Enterprise as the first national set of criteria for healthy, efficient, environmentally smart, affordable homes. SWA works with developers to ensure compliance with the Green Communities Criteria, both through consulting and active testing of all buildings and systems.

Enterprise Green Communities has also launched a series of new training tools and templates that provide residents, housing staff, and property managers with new resources to promote green resident education. These tools were developed by SWA, Tohn Environmental, Zero Energy Design, and O’Brien & Company to be utilized by residents and management. Resident “Training in a Box” offers four educational workshops to residents and Green Operations & Maintenance for management and maintenance staff. The workshops focus on saving energy, water conservation, healthy living, waste reduction, recycling strategies. For management teams, SWA provides an additional module on how to formulate a full green operations and maintenance plan specific to their needs.

Passive House Certification

The Passive House standard was first developed by the Passive House Institute in Darmstadt, Germany and administered in the United States by the Passive House Institute US. Passive House is rigorous and specific, promising to slash the heating energy consumption of buildings by 90% through the implementation of advanced insulation, ventilation, and passive solar techniques. SWA’s certified Passive House design consultants work with clients through each step of the process, from pre-construction to final documentation submission to verified certification.