By Richard Freeh, Executive Director
Green Building United’s annual Sustainability Symposium is a little over a month away, and on behalf of our staff & member selection team, we’re excited to announce this year’s sessions. As in past years, we are reflecting on major themes from these sessions ahead of the event and I want to share those themes with you.
Policy and Partnerships:
Collaboration is key to advancing equitable climate action, and partnerships are highlighted in several selected sessions this year, including the implementation of the School District of Philadelphia’s Green Futures plan, the Delaware Valley Region Planning Commission’s support of Southeastern Pennsylvania counties and municipalities to launch a regional benchmarking program, and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania’s emerging efforts to support statewide decarbonization efforts leveraging Inflation Reduction Act resources.
Innovations in Design and Construction:
As always, the Sustainability Symposium will be a place to learn about cutting edge green building design and construction trends. This year’s Symposium features sessions on leveraging machine learning and building optimization approaches, emerging pathways to taking a cross-rating system approach, and the importance of testing and verification as part of the LEED for Homes rating system.
Beyond Buildings — Sustainability, Broadly Defined:
While Green Building United is focused on the built environment, we know that “sustainability” can mean much more. We’re excited to feature several sessions on important topics in sustainability including green infrastructure and sustainable landscapes, electric vehicle charging, and interior fit-outs.
Equity and Justice:
I’m proud that this year’s Selection Committee continued to prioritize equity, diversity, and justice at this year’s Sustainability Symposium. We’ll have sessions featuring projects and approaches from across the U.S. highlighting how environmental justice leaders are advancing these topics, from Los Angeles and Baltimore to right here in Philadelphia.
For a full list of selected sessions, see here (be sure to scroll down to Featured Sessions and click to see the list!).
I am so grateful to everyone who submitted a session for this year’s Sustainability Symposium. We had more than 75 submissions, a post-pandemic record, and we are actively working to create opportunities to bring some of the content that won’t make it to this year’s Symposium to you and the rest of the Green Building United community.
Please join me in congratulating this year’s selected sessions, and I hope you’ll be part of another exciting day of learning, connecting, and inspiration at the 2024 Sustainability Symposium on May 22nd. Early bird tickets are still on sale through the end of April – you can secure yours here.
