Monumental Greenbuild Delivers Monumentally

By Grey Lee, Executive Director

[this story produced by Informa and the USGBC]

Increase in attendance, sold-out sessions and high-level speakers among highlights of week
 

Dallas (Dec. 8, 2015) – Informa Exhibitions and the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) have announced the results of the 2015 Greenbuild International Conference and Expo, held Nov. 18-20 at the Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C. Attendance was 19,058, a significant increase over the 2014 event. There were 548 exhibiting companies participating in 144,300 square feet of exhibit and display space on the trade show floor.
Greenbuild featured more than 200 sessions, tours, summits and workshops in the robust education program and throughout the week, with many sold-out sessions. An impressive 34,494 hours of continuing education credits were also earned at Greenbuild.

“In true Greenbuild fashion, sustainability remained at the forefront of this year’s event, and we hope each participant walked away with fresh motivation, inspiration and the most cutting-edge knowledge in the market,” noted Lindsay Roberts, Greenbuild show director. “From an increase in participation of our exhibitor greening guidelines to an increase in attendance to notable sustainability benchmarks, Greenbuild was a success and we continue to be grateful to the community for driving the green building movement forward.”

Greenbuild 2015 featured several key events, such as:

• Opening Plenary, which featured a conversation on climate change with award-winning filmmaker James Cameron and MSNBC’s Mika Brzezinski, co-host of Morning Joe 
• Greenbuild Celebration, held at the Washington, D.C. Newseum, included a special concert performance by Fitz and the Tantrums and a lively evening of networking
• Closing Plenary, which concluded the week with a fast-paced discussion moderated by NPR President Emeritus Kevin Klose and prominent sustainability leaders
• Combined Summit Closing Plenary featured Dr. Deepak Chopra, a pioneer and global leader in the mind-body medicine field
• Master speaker Elizabeth Kolbert, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist
• USGBC Leadership Awards Luncheon, which annually recognizes outstanding efforts to advance green building design and construction
• Communities & Affordable Homes Summit, Materials & Human Health Summit and International Summit
• Women in Green Power Breakfast, which celebrated females who are actively making a difference in sustainability
• Greenbuild Legacy Project, which celebrated a new urban food studio at the Capital Area Food Bank 

Attendees also spent significant time discovering and enjoying Washington, D.C. USGBC-National Capital Region led the official host committee of Greenbuild 2015 with 24 tours throughout the week, exploring residential and commercial buildings as well as historical buildings throughout the city.

“Every year, Greenbuild brings world-class education and programming to the green building community and continues to maintain the standards that make Greenbuild the most sustainable building conference in the world,” said Kate Hurst, vice president of community, conferences and events, USGBC. “From impactful education sessions to dynamic speakers and engaging summits, this year’s show represented all facets of green building for the nearly 20,000 attendees.” 

The expo hall again showcased the leading products and services available to professionals within the sustainable building industry and had several notable areas, including: 

• Greenbuild Unity Home, a 1,620-square-foot demonstration home designed to achieve LEED Platinum, WaterSense certification and net zero, which also included a full array of Cradle to Cradle-certified products
• World’s only Net Zero Zone, a 3,200-square-foot pavilion powered by alternative power collected on-site at the Washington Convention Center
• Expo Stage that hosted relevant and engaging sessions complimentary to all attendees
• Nine sponsored Education Labs with CE accredited education on the show floor, all sold out
• A display featuring sustainability-themed art from local children

Greenbuild 2016 Iconic Green is scheduled for Oct. 5-7 at the Los Angeles Convention Center in Los Angeles, CA. More information can be found at greenbuildexpo.com.

The Call for Proposals and Reviewers for Greenbuild 2016 is open and the deadline to submit is Jan. 8, 2016.

Video footage from the Opening Plenary, Closing Plenary, Master Series and Special Sets will be posted on the Greenbuild website this month.