The Greenbuild 2009 exhibit hall opened its doors today, and thousands of participants rushed inside to browse the latest innovations in sustainable products and services from over 2,000 businesses from across the globe.
As an environmental professional, wandering through the booths was akin to entering a Disneyland with a multitude of “rides” for sustainable and green building: I was surrounded by water conserving fixtures, bamboo wood flooring, high efficiency irrigation units, and solar power systems. And all of these wonderful sustainable products were showcased in one of the greenest convention centers in the world. The Phoenix Convention Center achieved LEED silver certification, and employs comprehensive recycling programs, utilizes solar energy, and employs a state-of-the-art energy management system.
Greenbuild 2009 also offers over 150 educational sessions; today’s focus was on LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) and USGBC (US Green Building Council) workshops. These full and half-day classes taught LEED implementation for the updated rating system (revised in 2009) and included subjects such as energy modeling, construction and demolition training, and lighting and daylighting design. The World Green Building International Congress also was held today and international experts in sustainable development briefed participants on an array of green building issues around the world.
Tomorrow the educational tracks commence, and feature a special executive roundtable with CEOs from the USGBC, Marriott, Bank of America, and Interface Inc. Tomorrow evening former Vice President Al Gore and singer Sheryl Crow headline the opening keynote celebration.
For those unable to attend Greenbuild, you can view Al Gore’s opening address and other speakers through live streaming video at the Greenbuild 2009 Video Streams site.
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