Green development earns Cincinnati national conference

It's hard to imagine getting excited about parking lot solar panels and elephant manure.

But prepare for the improbable when the Cincinnati Chapter of the US Green Building Council brings the conference "Breaking New Ground: Greening the Heartland" to the city June 22-24, 2011. LEED-accredited professionals and leaders from across the Midwest will join those here to learn the latest, best practices in sustainable building and tour innovative centers like the University of Cincinnati, Melink Corporation, and the Cincinnati Zoo to see those practices in action, including the collection of manure for organic waste composting.

With more LEED projects than anywhere else in Ohio and the fourth largest number of LEED accredited professional in the Midwest, Cincinnati is a national hub of sustainable building practices. The Cincinnati Chapter was selected to host the conference this year from a competitive crowd of sixteen chapters in the twelve-state Heartland region of the US Green Building Council.

"When we were competing to receive the conference, we stated our case on how we were evolving sustainably as a region by sharing our good news," recollects Chad Edwards, past president of the board and chair of the conference committee.

One outstanding success is the city's green school program. Cincinnati has the largest number of LEED-registered schools in the state, and Ohio has more of these schools than the states of California, Florida, Washington and Oregon combined. When members of the local chapter go to national events, they are recognized for having over 20% of all the LEED-registered schools in the country.

"We're treated like rock stars!" Edwards laughs. People want to know what the region is doing to foster this success. "It's collaboration," says Edwards. "It's people coming together. What we're not doing well is sharing our stories outside our region, and this conference will help with that."

Keynote speakers are LEED professionals and leaders from around the country and close to home. Procter & Gamble Company executive and Global Supply Officer, R. Keith Harrison, Jr., will discuss the business aspects of sustainability and what P&G's past actions and current commitment to sustainability will mean for development in the region and businesses here.

Local LEED accredited professionals will appreciate the opportunity for continuing education credits that the conference will offer. Over a 1000 professionals are expected to attend the conference and its programs and visit the exhibition hall, where Cincinnati and Midwest businesses will display their sustainable building products and services.

Says Edwards, "Quite frankly, we're one of the top sustainable cities in the country," and this conference should spread the word.

Registration is open online.

Writer: Becky Johnson