The Marble Institute of America (MIA) has introduced a new CEU presentation entitled “Natural Stone & Green Design.” Developed by the MIA’s Sustainability Presentation Committee, this one-hour class is ready for presentation to architects and designers seeking continuing education credits. It covers how natural stone fits into the green movement, including information about LEED credits and other building standards. The presentation has been approved by the AIA (architects), IDCEC (interior designers), LACES (landscape architects) and GBCI (U.S. Green Building Council’s Green Building Certification Institute) as a certified continuing education course.

“Natural Stone & Green Design” is the first MIA CEU presentation certified by GBCI.

The Sustainability Presentation Committee was chaired by Robert Bacon of Daltile. Other members include: Mark Shama (Cosmos Surface Distribution), Fred Jackson (Estudio Group), Vincent Moiso (Quarry Collections), Fred Hueston (Stone Forensics), and Scott Lardner (Rocky Mountain Stone).

“GBCI’s acceptance of our ‘Natural Stone and Green Design’ CEU presentation adds distinctive validation to the course content and more importantly to the message that natural stone occupies a relevant and active position in green design,” said Bacon.

“I am excited about adding this presentation to our CEU offerings,” said Moiso. “Tremendous effort was made to update our original Sustainable Design course. It’s a comprehensive course, and GBCI’s approval simply confirms the relevancy of natural stone to the green movement.”

“I am thrilled to be rolling out the new ‘Natural Stone & Green Design’ course,” added Sarah Kelly of the MIA. “Among other things, this serves as an all-inclusive collection of green building standards relevant to our industry.”

The library of CEU courses available to members of the CEU program has grown to 12. In 2013, a total of 261 courses were presented to over 2,900 designers, architects and landscape architects. People enrolled in the MIA CEU program will have access to presentation materials including a PowerPoint, printable handout and a learning assessment quiz. They will also be given a folder with relevant resources such as Natural Stone Council case studies and the LEED 4.0 handbook.