Preaching Green

Heads turned toward a changing political landscape at the Greenbuild conference in San Francisco this past November, just weeks after the 2012 election cycle. The buzz at the show centered on spreading green messages beyond core LEED initiates. And after a grueling stretch at the polls, everyone seemed ready to leave politics behind to create a new wave of decision-making that would allow sustainability to enjoy the success of historic social movements like suffrage or civil rights.

There are still the same old frustrations, including the idea that too many sustainability debates are vetted by the same insular groups and never heard by the general public. But now the LEED Green Associate program may change that by offering training and certification in sustainable building to anyone over 18, including marketers, educators, real estate agents, manufacturers and lawyers.

Exhibitors found news way to recycle old materials into new products and expand functionality. Alcoa Architectural Products’ (New York) Reynobond with EcoClean is an aluminum architectural panel that interacts with sunlight to breakdown organic matter that accumulates on it. When it rains, the panel washes clean.

Others, like Interface (LaGrange, Ga.) pushed for biophilic design, which builds on the idea that design can enhance our physical and mental wellbeing – an idea that’s sustainable in more ways than one.