Looking back at Greenbuild

A funny thing happens every year: I go to Greenbuild*, get all pumped up, wish to share my enthusiasm and all the good news with the world, then BAM! the holiday season is upon us.  Yes, it's been a few weeks since Greenbuild 2012, but that's no reason not to share.

I started my week off participating in the first "LBC Materials Research Agenda" forum on Tuesday hosted by Oregon Best, which was not officially part of Greenbuild but a "pre-event". We tackled what has been identified as the most common "problem" building materials that need new solutions, such as waterproofing, insulation, plastics, and composite woods. We split into teams to define the problems and to challenge manufacturers, scientists, and researchers to solve the issues to create better materials. The report will be published soon.

On Wednesday at the Opening Plenary, we were fired up by Rick Fedrizzi, President of +USGBC (U.S. Green Building Council), who is clearly ready to take on the climate change deniers. Our new mantra is We Are Right! You can see the teaser video here: https://vimeo.com/53628669, full length is coming.

Also on Wednesday, I had the opportunity to see Van Jones speak. I almost wanted to tweet everything he said. I suggest watching the video at https://vimeo.com/53686515 since I can't possibly do him justice. Actually, you can watch all the Master Speakers for free. Go to http://greenbuildexpo.org/live.aspx for the full list. Using the sidebar on the left, you can view speakers from past years as well. They are all well worth a lunch break.

As some of you may know, LEED is coming out with a new version next year. In addition to all the v4 changes, the online tools are also being overhauled. You can now browse all the credits for all the systems and get resources for each in one simple interface in the LEED Credit Library. Using the drop-downs you can choose a system and a version. From that one page you can see the current credit language, rulings, resources, and a view of the LEEDuser forum for that credit. This is so much easier than the old system, especially as it can help us all keep up to date without looking in several places.

I could keep going but I think that's enough for one post. More in the new year.


*'Greenbuild®' and related logo is a registered trademark owned by the U.S. Green Building Council® and is used by permission.