What's happening with Greenbuild Expo 2007?

The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) http://www.usgbc.org/ will hold this year's Greenbuild Expo in Chicago on November 7-9. http://www.greenbuildexpo.org/ The move to Chicago was made in part to accomodate its growing attendance and given this year's keynote speaker, former President Bill Clinton, it was probably a good idea. Apparently the "Clinton Climate Initiative" has decided that green building is key to reaching its goals of reducing CO2 emissions that lead to climate change.

What does all this mean? I think it points to how far the green building movement has come in recent years. The interest and commitment to building, both commercial and residential, in a sustainable manner has reached new levels.

USGBC initiated the LEED system http://www.usgbc.org/DisplayPage.aspx?CategoryID=19 that rates buildings according to specific criteria pertaining to green building practices. It has been beta-testing "LEED for Homes" for nearly two years as I mentioned in a prior post. USGBC started Greenbuild in 2002 and in 2006 attendance was much higher than anticipated. The conference consists of educational sessions and workshops, an exhibition floor, networking events and even guided tours of local green buildings. Attendees include building professionals, i.e. architects, designers, engineers etc. as well as anyone interested in green building.

Why hold it in Chicago? "Chicago is committed to becoming the most environmentally friendly city in the world," said Mayor Richard Daley. "Chicago was one of the first cities to adopt LEED for the construction of all new city facilities and to develop an expedited permit process for LEED certified green buildings. As a signatory to the U.S. Mayor's Climate Protection Agreement and a member of the Clinton Climate Initiative, Chicago is also a leader in reducing greenhouse gas emissions." Also, the site of the conference is a LEED registered project. Given Chicago's rich architectural history, perhaps an appropriate place to hold a conference on building green.