The American Institute of Architects (AIA) has announced that starting in January 2009 it will require its members to complete four hours per year of continuing education focused on sustainable design, constituting half of the eight hours required for topics in health, safety, and welfare. The requirement will remain in place until 2012, when it will be reevaluated.

The organization now faces the task of vetting its existing courses to determine whether they will count toward the new requirements. According to Thomas Lowther, senior director of continuing education systems, AIA has decided on four broad thresholds by which to judge courses. Eligible courses must address the AIA definition of sustainability (*see below); must be structured programs rather than self-study; must cover health, safety, and welfare in at least 75 percent of their content; and must address at least one of the Committee on the Environment’s (COTE) measures of sustainable design and performance.