Greenbuild 2015 in Washington DC was as busy as ever this year. From a conversation with James Cameron to educational sessions to checking out new products on the expo floor and school building tours, I was able to make great connections with all that is happening in the world of green building. As the COP21 climate talks begin today in Paris I wanted to share three key takeaways I had from this year’s conference.
- The synergy between Green (buildings) and Green ($) is as evident as ever: Those of us in the green building movement have always known that environmentalism is not contrary to commercialism. Now the world is making the connection that the green economy is the key to a successful future.
- Education is key: From early childhood education to the education of every citizen, we must all understand how to have a positive relationship with the environment in order to build our future and mitigate climate change. Higher education is the key to creating innovative technologies and designing better performing buildings. On the expo floor, there was a mobile education trailer teaching about energy, water, and resource use to the general public and a LEED Lego set to teach children about smart urban planning. I even saw energy games, like Energy Chickens, that encourage energy use reductions.
- We’re all in this together: During the conference, I was on a panel discussion about achieving better building performance. I had the opportunity to share what Arrowstreet is doing within our firm and to hear from other firms as well. We can all learn so much more when we collaborate and share experiences and ideas. This is integral to creating high performing buildings.
Topics: Resiliency, Technology, Sustainability, Events