Greenbuild Conference Encourages Sustainability Nationwide
LOS ANGELES — The U.S. Green Building Council’s (USGBC) annual Greenbuild Conference and Expo opened Oct. 5 through Oct. 7 at the Los Angeles Convention Center in Los Angeles. The expo welcomed more than 20,000 attendees and 600 international exhibitors.
According to Patti Mason, the director of USGBC in Colorado, this year’s conference focused on brining green building strategies to the mainstream and making them more accessible and affordable.
“Green building is at a really critical point and we have the opportunity to bring these strategies to everyone,” she said.
Keynote speakers like Abigail Baum, a senior associate at the Philadelphia-based Pew Charitable Trusts and Brett Phillips, a director of sustainability at Los Angeles-based Unico Properties discussed the trends, challenges and innovations that took place this year in green building. Other speakers like Bomee Jung, the vice president for energy and sustainability at the New York Housing Authority and Collin Cavote, the CEO of Oakland, Calif.-based Biome encouraged participants to ask questions about; sustainable construction materials, water conservation, energy conservation, women in green power and green building certification, according to Mason.
“The keynotes inspired us to think about what we can do as individuals,” said Mason. “How do we inspire the decision makers in major corporations and how do we take encourage others to take action?”
This year also featured a list of USGBC LEED education programs that certified participants as a LEED Green Associate. In this role, participants become active members of the green building movement and understand the value of sustainability-focused projects and organizations.
“Sustainability is about the people,” said Michelle Moore, CEO of Washington -based Groundswell, a company dedicated to bridging the economic gap in green building. “It’s about loving my neighbors as I love myself. None of us can continue to operate under the perception that clean energy is a luxury good.”
The expo also offered 600 international exhibitors the chance to showcase green products that lower waste, reduce carbon footprints and have the capacity to improve the environment while encouraging consumers to invest a more sustainable lifestyle.
According to Mason, a lot of the exhibitors this year paid special attention to water harvesting, water reuse, greywater and other technologies that allows for water conservation.
“The expo gives smaller manufacturers the chance to get noticed in the green building industry,” said Mason.
One exhibitor that really stood out to Mason was Brecksville, Ohio-based FlowGuard Gold & Corzan. FlowGuard Gold & Corzan has created a plumbing system that uses less water and emits fewer greenhouse gasses than mainstream, non-sustainable plumbing systems. The main purpose of their plumbing system is to make potable water safer for drinking. Other exhibitors featured items like automated solar-shading systems, green chemicals and indoor lighting controls.
Participants at this year’s Greenbuild Conference and Expo were encouraged to think about how the built environment is affecting the health and wellness of our nation. The next Greenbuild International Conference and Expo will be held in 2017 at the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center, Nov. 8 through Nov. 10.