Sustainability and Continuing Education:
Questions and Answers
Taking the lead for the nation, the Texas Legislature passed a law requiring
one of each registrant’s eight continuing education hours to be in
sustainable or energy-efficient design.
Q. Does the legislation define sustainable
and energy-efficient design?
A. No, SB 541 did not define the relevant
terms, instead leaving that task to the
agency. The Board solicited guidance
and commentary starting in 2007, and
received input from many sources during
the crafting of the definitions and new rules
to implement the law. More information on
the definition and how it came to be can be
found at right.
Q. When will the new CEPH requirement go
into effect?
A. The new rule is in effect now, but you do
not have to report that you have completed
the new requirement yet. You must
report that you have completed 1 CEPH
in sustainable or energy-efficient design
when you renew your license beginning in
September, 2009.
Q: Does this new sustainability requirement
replace the current barrier-free
requirement?
A: No, both requirements will apply. So
that’s 1 hour of barrier-free design and
1 hour of sustainable or energy-efficient
design, out of the 8 CEPH reported to TBAE.
A total of 8 hours is still the requirement.
Q: How do you define “sustainable or
energy-efficient design,” and who came up
with those definitions?
A: The following definitions were proposed
during the October 15-16, 2007 Board
meeting to implement legislation passed in
the 80th Legislative Session. The definitions
and rules were crafted with input from the
American Institute of Architects (AIA), the
US Green Building Council (USGBC) and
the Council of Landscape Architectural
Registration Boards (CLARB), and individuals,
and became effective April 3, 2008. The
complete rules are posted at www.tbae.
state.tx.us.
Sustainable Design – An integrative
approach to the process of design which
seeks to avoid depletion of energy, water,
and raw material resources; prevent
environmental degradation caused by
facility and infrastructure development
during their implementation and over
their life cycle; and create environments
that are livable and promote health,
safety and well-being. Sustainability is
the concept of meeting present needs
without compromising the ability of future
generations to meet their own needs.
Energy-Efficient Design – The design of a
project and the specification of materials to
minimize the consumption of energy in the
use of the project. The term includes energy
efficiency strategies by design as well the
incorporation of alternative energy systems.