Sustainability is making a move to the mainstream with stories about global warming and everyday environmentally friendly practices dominating all kinds of media.
The green movement is affecting many industries, including construction. As the green building movement gains momentum, the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) strives to revolutionize the concept within the industry. And what better city to host the Greenbuild International Conference and Expo and its theme "Revolutionary Green: Innovations for Global Sustainability" than Boston, the historic cradle of the American Revolution, according to the USGBC.
The USGBC’s Greenbuild Conference and Expo is an opportunity for attendees to connect with other green building peers, industry experts and influential leaders as they share insights on the green building movements
Boston also has plenty to offer Greenbuild attendees outside of show hours. As "America’s Walking City" Boston offers visitors the opportunity to enjoy a unique green getaway, car-free. City visitors can walk from the pedestrian-friendly Newbury Street to the Charles River riverfront parks. Or they can take a stroll from Beacon Hill to the downtown Boston waterfront where the soon-to-be 40-mile Boston Harborwalk awaits as well as the 27-acres Rose Kennedy Greenway. One of Boston’s most popular visitor attractions, the Freedom Trail, is a walk-through-history trail. At the mid-point of the Freedom Trail is Boston’s café district - Faneuil Hall Marketplace. Visitors can walk to museums, attractions or take a Trolley that loops through the city. The Boston public transit system can be easily understood by visitors thanks to its four-color lines that connect hotels, attractions, shops, convention centers and different neighborhoods. Even Logan International Airport is now connected through the brand new Silver Line. Water, rail and coach transportation in Boston is convenient. It is easy and inexpensive for visitors staying at a hotel in Boston and Cambridge to tour the Boston Harbor Islands, Cape Cod (Provincetown), Salem and Quincy by ferry. A day trip to Portland, Maine, Providence, R.I., or even New York City by high speed rail is affordable. You can also take a day trip by coach to the Wrentham Village Outlet or Foxwoods or Mohegan Sun Casinos. Boston and Cambridge hotels, restaurants, attractions and tours are engaged in a widespread ‘greening’ initiative. For more information on Boston’s Green Visitors Program vist www.bostonusa.com/green. -The Greater Boston Convention and Visitors Bureau
and its diverse specialties, according to the event’s coordinators.
Experiencing Boston
Last year’s conference drew more than 23,000 attendees and featured more than 850 exhibitors, and show coordinators expect similar levels of high participation this year.
The three days of educational programming, green building tours, exhibit hall and networking events provide attendees with an arena to exchange ideas as well as learn about the latest technology and products the industry has to offer.
A GREEN EDUCATIONThis year Greenbuild includes more than 100 educational sessions featuring world-renowned speakers, LEED workshops, off-site sessions and green building tours of local Boston sites.
Attendees have the opportunity to hear Archbishop Desmond Tutu give the opening keynote address Wednesday, Nov. 19 from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. As a Nobel Peace Laureate, Tutu led a crusade for social justice and racial conciliation in South Africa as then-General Secretary of the South African Council of Churches. Today, he is revered worldwide as a "moral voice" seeking to end poverty and human rights abuses.
"Bishop Tutu’s life, work and message demonstrate the power of transformational change," says Rick Fedrizzi, president, CEO and founding chairman of the USGBC. "Bishop Tutu’s role in ending Apartheid in South Africa and bringing reconciliation to its people will inspire us toward the transformation of our buildings to a sustainable future, and will give us an extraordinary example of social justice in action."
Attendees also get the opportunity to hear E.O. Wilson and Janine Benyus give the closing keynote address, Friday, Nov. 21 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Wilson is a University Research Professor emeritus and honorary curator of entomology at the Museum of comparative Zoology at Harvard University. Considered one of today’s leading scholars and naturalists, Dr. Wilson is the recipient of more than 100 international medals and awards.
Benyus is the author of Biomimicry: Innovation Inspired by Nature, which names an emerging discipline that seeks sustainable solutions by emulating nature’s designs and processes. A co-founder of the Biomimicry Guild and founder of the Biomimicry Institute, Benyus regularly consults with sustainable business, academic and government leaders and conducts seminars about what people can learn from the nature that surrounds them.
Speakers for the educational sessions include: Van Jones, president of Green for All; Stefan Behnisch, principal at Behnisch, Behnisch and Partners; Majora Carter, executive director of Sustainable South Bronx; Carol Browner, principal at the Albright Group LLC; Paul Anastas, director of the Center for Green Chemistry and Green Engineering, Yale University; Bill McKibben, environmentalist and author, Howard Frumkin, director of the National Center for Environmental Heath, CDC; and Leith Sharp, director of the Harvard Green Campus Initiative (HGCI).
Attendees also get the chance to catch up with peers and learn more about Boston’s green efforts on the green building tours Friday, Nov. 21 and Saturday, Nov. 22. Attendees have 25 different tours to choose from including, the South Boston museum and waterfront, urban green schools, Cambridge campus and downtown Boston offices on Friday as well as Boston neighborhoods, Rhode Island redevelopment, environmental education and research on Cape Cod and green homes in Boston and Cambridge on Saturday.
MEET AND GREETSGreenbuild is touted as a great place to start new relationships and foster existing relationships with peers and colleagues from around the world. This year’s event features a number of special events designed to showcase what Boston and the green building movement have to offer, according to event coordinators.
The grand opening of the exhibit hall Tuesday night give attendees the chance to mingle with peers as well as the chance to see the latest in technology and equipment.
The networking opportunities continue the next day with breakfast, lunch, educational sessions and the Welcome Gala later that evening. The Welcome Gala is a refection of Greenbuid’s revolution and how Boston, as a city, has embraced "going green," according to event organizers. Many of the city’s buildings are being renovated to demonstrate the city’s commitment to the green movement, including the venue for the gala, the Boston’s Children’s Museum. This is Boston’s first green museum, incorporating sustainable design into the building. Attendees can see for themselves at the Welcome Gala, Wednesday, Nov. 19 starting at 7 p.m.
On Thursday attendees can wander the exhibit hall as well as participate in off site education sessions focused on Boston’s green efforts. At the end of the day, attendees can mingle with exhibitors over cocktails before the leadership awards ceremony, which starts at 7 p.m. The final day of the conference and expo includes the closing keynote session, half-day green building tours and half-day LEED workshops.
More information, including registration instructions, is available at www.greenbuildexpo.com.
The author is assistant editor of C&DR and can be contacted at kmorris@gie.net.
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