West Coast Green

West Coast Green Cultivates a Sustainable Design Network

By Kay Wilthew

Global environmental awareness drives the prevalence of green technology and materials in today's home building industry. Informed, conscientious consumers demand building projects with a smaller environmental footprint, and home builders must stay apprised of available options to meet this growing demand. West Coast Green's 2007 conference is the change agent empowering people through education and networking, featuring 250 innovative players in the green technology field. Architects, designers, builders and homeowners are welcome to participate in attending and exhibiting sustainable building's limitless possibilities.

After eight years of successfully producing the Green Materials Showcase for Architects/Designers/Planners for Social Responsibility (ADPSR), board member and entrepreneur Christi Graham had the visionary idea to bring an educational approach to a larger audience. "I am passionate about the human aspect of building and design and how creativity plays a role in solutions to current environmental issues. The green building movement has reached the tipping point and has changed consumer understanding of what it means to live in a safe, healthy and efficient home and community."

Building on the past success of the Green Materials Showcase, Ms. Graham brings her skills, relationships and experience toward the realization of full-scale market transformation at West Coast Green &mdash the premier three-day event for the Western region of the United States, focused specifically on residential green building.

Not only are health benefits associated with building green, but there is a substantial marketplace developing for "high performance" or "sustainable design." "The recent USGBC [U.S. Green Building Council] report states that building industries employ over 1.7 million people and make up a significant part of the gross domestic product [GDP], an estimated $1 trillion per year," Graham says. "This is a tremendous opportunity for us to gather and share new technologies, ideas and support one another's initiatives." The USGBC spearheaded this nationally accepted green building benchmark for commercial buildings, entitled Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System, and this council is now developing standards for residential construction, which will officially launch this fall.

The first West Coast Green conference and exposition launched in 2006 with resounding success, drawing nearly 9,000 people from every state in the nation and several European countries. "We realized there was the demand and it required involving more than just a team of dedicated conference professionals," recalls Graham, who gives credit for this success to her "lean" full-time staff of nine, an influential advisory board of prominent city and county officials, and hundreds of business entrepreneurs and supporters who helped to shape the conference experience. "We're continually asking our stakeholders: 'How can we move the entire green building movement forward? How can we inspire, lead and put the ideas of our speakers into practice?'"

Graham's team constructed a format that combines inspirational aspects as well as the tangible &mdash providing the tools and resources people need to take action and make an immediate, positive impact.

Mary Ann Gallagher, Conference Design Director, describes the program and the business culture as one of outcomes. "We wanted people to come away with the idea that they would make a difference personally. The green building movement has grown exponentially. We offer the experience of being connected, with each other and the environment."

Team members are acknowledged for their integrity, contributions to the program and passion for efficiency &mdash as well as efficacy. Theresa Turner, Vice President, Operations, readily admits to this mindset. "We were all drawn to this company, and what we do is all about efficiency: being green, energy efficient and not wasteful." The conference itself is an illustration of "living the change." Organic materials are composted, green food vendors were purposely selected, paper is recycled and electronic media is used whenever possible. Even the carpeting throughout the auditorium is made from recycled materials.

Graham notes that West Coast Green is "the largest residential green building educational institution in the world." Empowerment through education is the force that motivates Graham's intensely cohesive design team. Program Director Karen Jackson remarks, "Our program content is driven by suggestions collected directly from attendee surveys and feedback." And while education is the main focus of the event, the human experience is of equal importance. Great care and attention to detail ensures visitors enjoy a comfortable, enlightening experience.

Janet Pomeroy, Sustainable Marketing Strategist, believes that growing the awareness in green building is fundamentally more important than moving the conference to a larger venue. "The conference really is about an intimate experience. I think this is something that green building has really addressed." Pomeroy, who holds a specialized masters of business administration in sustainable enterprise, feels strongly that expansion is not West Coast Green's objective. "We're about impacting more people, but impacting them in a way that makes them reflect on quality of life."

Graham views the conference as a way to introduce people to the joy of living green. "One of the greatest things about having a trade show is the ability to experience the products and meet the people behind the green technology. This takes some of the fear out of green building immediately because these items are beautiful. Green products and design are now high fashion and use very clever technology." Graham also believes living green is a path to living a better life. "You start thinking about your own impact, how to save money and make your home a healthier, happier place to live. And we have witnessed this firsthand; this is something people want to know about. If they do know about it, they will make the right choice."

West Coast Green is the largest residentially focused green building conference and expo in North America. The three-day event, held from September 20-22 at Bill Graham Civic Auditorium in San Francisco, will host more than 12,000 building professionals, homeowners and those seeking the latest information on high-performance and healthy building, remodeling and design. The conference includes more than 250 exhibitors, networking forums, more than 100 presentations by industry leaders and visionary thinkers, a design house and over 6,000 attendees, in addition to which the entire chain of professionals and decision-makers rarely reached by other conferences are expected to attend. West Coast Green is located at 316 Miller Avenue, Suite H, in Mill Valley, CA, 94941. Call (415) 383-5105 or visit westcoastgreen.com for more information.

West Coast Green 2007 Makes History

West Coast Green is a full-scale three-day green conference and exposition focused on residential green building. Organizers predicted that this year's event would bring record-breaking crowds, and it did just that. The attendance was recorded at nearly 11,000 people, including over 300 journalists, making it the largest and most well-documented residential green-building conference in history. Speakers included San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, Sarah Susanka, Steve Wozniak, Ray Anderson, Erin Brockovich, Eric Corey Freed, Ed Begley Jr. and Michelle Kaufmann, to name a few.

"It's far bigger and more hands on than any green-building conference I've seen yet," said Jeremy Faludi of Worldchanging.org. "It's a sign that green building is going mainstream."

The trade show floor was at full capacity with over 250 exhibitors, allowing professionals and homeowners alike to see and experience one of the largest displays in history of sustainable and eco-friendly green-building products and services.

As if that were not enough, attendees had a large variety of presentations and educational tracks to choose from. Each presentation supported a "living system" design, allowing track hosts to tie key points and meaningful distinctions together from across the spectrum of talks and workshops. Hosts then posted their summaries in the "Conversation Café;" a space for discussing new ideas for participants to review. Facilitators, graphic recorders and business consultants from The Grove and the Economic Transformations Group helped hundreds of attendees catalyze new initiatives into viable programs and business plans in the "Action Hub." Throughout 2008, conference board members will follow and support these new initiatives as they develop.

One of the big highlights of West Coast Green 2007 was a prefabricated, zero-energy, green-built modular home designed by Michelle Kaufmann and built by Xtreme Homes. It was constructed on the lawn of City County Plaza, located directly across from the venue. Attendees toured the 700-square-foot house, which sported sustainable materials like fly ash concrete, FSC-certified wood, no-VOC paint, a living roof, LED lighting system, Energy Star appliances, photovoltaic energy system and a rainwater catchment system. The organizers even thought to bring in landscape designer Nick Thayer of Late Afternoon Garden Design to create a sustainable garden, which he designed to expresses the same environmentally conscious, progressive ideas as the mkLotus house embodies.

West Coast Green, in keeping with this year's theme, "Live the change," kept in mind their own impact on the planet. With the average conference producing 100-200 cubic yards of landfill waste in a matter of days, West Coast Green 2006 diverted 96% to compost and recycling. While the final waste-diversion numbers for 2007 won't be available for weeks, the event staff is optimistic.

"The conference is determined to recycle 99% of everything that is thrown away," said Mike Cohn, one of over 500 volunteers stationed at recycling stations (compost, recyclables and landfill trash) throughout the conference.

Event organizers have gone above and beyond to create a unique conference experience for everyone involved. "I see West Coast Green catalyzing a full-scale market conversion, infusing all commerce with green values and generating public policy that makes enlivening living spaces a basic birthright available to everyone," said executive producer of West Coast Green, Christi Graham, "I imagine the ripples reaching into areas we could never imagine or trace. This is not grandiosity, but a simple recognition of the interdependence of existence, and the power of striking a clear and direct chord that resonates with all of life."

Visit westcoastgreen.com for more information on West Coast Green.

August 2007 Builder Architect Edition Issue

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