Go Green at Greenbuild 2007

By Louis in News on Nov 7, 2007 8:27PM

The Greenbuild Expo started this morning at McCormick Place with a keynote by none other than Al Gore's president, Bill Clinton. Greenbuild 2007 brings 18,000 building professionals together for education sessions, lectures, tours of Chicago's greenest buildings, and a huge number of booths featuring new products and technology.

Greenbuild says they chose Chicago because of the city's legacy of great architecture and Mayor Daley's dedication to all things green. (During his reign, the city has "planted half a million trees, 80 miles of landscaped medians, and built or negotiated 2 million square feet of green roofs.") While we always think there is a bit of hypocrisy to run a 3 day convention that probably uses the energy of a small country (a la Live Earth), Greenbuild has taken a number of steps to at least try to reduce their impact, and it's being held at the McCormick West Building, which is a certified green building.

Attending isn't necessarily for the casual observer with non-USBGC and non-students paying $975 to register onsite for the full conference and expo, but if you just want check out what is new in the world of green tech, access to the convention hall is only $75 for the day ($25 if you are a student). Individual tickets can also be purchased for much less for the International Forum, welcome party, and LEED workshops. They also have green building tours that are open to attendees for under $100.

Greenbuild 2007 runs through the 9th.