Greensburg at Greenbuild

Every year the U.S. Green Building Council sponsors Greenbuild, which is the world's largest conference and expo dedicated to green building. (USGBC is a nonprofit organization which is also known for having launched the LEED certification process in 1998.) Greenbuild brings together people associated with the sustainable building trade for three days of educational sessions, speakers, green building tours, and networking opportunities. Every year they bring in “big name” speakers and leaders in the industry. This year’s event in Phoenix was no exception, with former Vice-President Al Gore giving the keynote address, and recording star and environmental activist Sheryl Crow providing entertainment.

Several folks from Greensburg went to Phoenix November 11-13 to speak at this year’s Greenbuild. School Superintendent Darin Headrick, Mayor Bob Dixson, and GreenTown Executive Director Daniel Wallach made a panel presentation about the Green Initiative in Greensburg to a break-out session of about 200 people. The session, entitled “Greensburg: America’s Model Green Community in Their Own Words” featured a PowerPoint presentation, which gave the audience a good feel for the effect of the tornado and the amazing progress that has transpired in the past 2-1/2 years. It’s evident from the reception received by the local group that there continues to be deep interest in what is going on in Greensburg, and that this interest is being sustained by the innovations that continue to come out of our community. The more projects that are completed, the more excitement is being generated.

A second presentation, entitled “Greensburg, Kansas and Beyond”, featured Shanti Pless (from the National Renewable Energy Lab-Commercial Buildings Research Group in Golden, Colorado), Chuck Banks (former Kansas State Director of the US Department of Agriculture-Rural Development), Dave Jeffers (Manager of the Retail Brand Experience at the John Deere Corporation), and Tom Wind (wind energy expert and consultant to NREL). Each of these men has been heavily involved in consulting with local projects. They talked about the technical aspects of the rebuilding of the community, and how the concept of sustainability has been incorporated into various projects. Having people speak who have given so much to our community gave the Greenbuild audience members a unique vantage point and brought that much more visibility to Greensburg.

GreenTown Board Chair Mary Melton also made the trip to represent the community. Mike Estes and Kelly Estes (from the local John Deere Dealership) happened to be in Phoenix at a family business meeting during part of the conference and dropped by the “Greensburg and Beyond” workshop. Our community was well-represented.

The Greensburg group spent a good amount of time on the Exhibitors Floor, meeting with some of the 1,700+ vendors from throughout the country who had booths there. These people selling their green products and services are looking to capture a piece of the sustainable building market. Many sustainability officers from major corporations were also at the show. They were there to build relationships and do what they could to try to position themselves at the forefront of the sustainability/green living movement.

The Greensburg delegation is grateful to the Greensburg Future Fund (administered by the South Central Community Foundation in Pratt, Kansas) for their financial support, which enabled our representatives to participate in this year’s GreenBuild.

This was a vital, vibrant event which attracted over 28,000 conference-goers to Arizona. Greenbuild’s attendance is in sharp contrast to other building industry trade shows, where attendance is down dramatically. (For example, the International Builders Show held in Las Vegas saw a 1/3 drop in registrations from last year; this figure represents 30,000 fewer people than attended in 2008.) This level of interest in green building points to the viability and timeliness of this sector of the industry.