At
the 2008 Greenbuild Expo, I thought Forbo Marmoleum had the best
exhibitor booth, or should I say lack thereof. But this year, they felt
the need to change gears and fill their booth with stuff. Last year’s
minimal approach and video chat with a remote sales rep seemed to fit
perfectly with the best sustainable strategies. As I’ve said in earlier
posts, the exhibition floor was so big, and time so tight, that I
surely missed a few aisles - or walked them so fast I probably passed
by more than a few interesting companies. One standout was InterfaceFLOR.
Similar to last year, they used their floor space to communicate an
important issue rather than focus solely on product. Last year it was
the launch of Mission Zero, and this year a discussion of the elephant
in the room - petroleum use in products.
Holding
the opening festivities in Chase Field - the baseball stadium of the
Arizona Diamondbacks - was a nice change. I assume the decision to use
that venue rather than a boring convention hall was probably driven by
the sheer number of attendees and the headline acts - Al Gore and
Sheryl Crow. Each year the USGBC manages to secure big names. As a
member of Mr. Gore’s The Climate Project non-profit education
organization and one of his trained presenters, I’ve seen him talk many
times. He’s become such a big figure in the sustainable movement and a
major draw that it was interesting to attend if only for the people
watching. I was surprised by how well the stadium worked for such an
event. USGBC organized an excellent celebration that was entertaining,
social, and intimate even with such a large group.
In
addition to being a LEED certified building, the PHX Convention Center
was a pretty good venue. At the past two Greenbuild Expos (Chicago and
Boston) I was able to arrive easily using public transportation.
Although Phoenix opened a light rail system last year, it still doesn’t
have enough range to make it easy to use. Due to other circumstances, I
drove the short distance from hotel to convention center and was
worried that parking would be a nightmare. With the exception of one
day of heavy traffic, I was able to secure the same parking spot close
to an entry each day quite easily. At the Boston convention center, I
preferred how all exhibits were in one central hall. This year the
floor was split in two halls some distance apart. It wasn’t a huge
issue, but running from one to the other to interview exhibitors was
difficult and time consuming.
Other
than a few disappointing educational sessions, the expo and conference
were a big success for Aleida and me. We were able to accomplish almost
everything we set out to do. We’re currently processing all the
interviews we conducted with exhibitors and will be posting them next
week. One exhibit booth I thought deserved a photo and a mention as a
questionable Greenbuild exhibitor was the Vinyl Institute. I cannot
imagine the kind of conversations that must have taken place there. As
you can see in the photo above, their tag line was Vinyl: The Material
for Life. They could not have stated the problem more succinctly. There
are valuable uses for vinyl products and situations where its
durability is needed, but overall, we should be figuring out how to
eliminate vinyl from the built environment. US buildings are the
largest consumers of vinyl products. Its production requires petroleum,
it's toxic during manufacturing, it’s toxic when manipulated or
installed in buildings, it’s toxic in a fire, and it’s toxic at the end
of its life. And although a vinyl manufacturer will tell you the
product is recyclable, there are currently no vinyl recycling programs
available. The vast majority of polyvinyl chloride products end up in a
landfill or get incinerated - both are environmentally hazardous
options. When vinyl is burned it releases dioxin - the most
carcinogenic material known. In a landfill, vinyl can last between ten
and twenty thousand years. It does not interact with nature as a
biological nutrient - no bacteria or organisms feed on it. It breaks
into smaller pieces if exposed to the sun, but it does not get
processed naturally. It therefore is a toxin for a very long time - for
many many lifetimes.
I’m a
big fan of a grand finish. I hate leaving for home after a good
conference or expo on a low note. The closing plenary session at
Greenbuild is the opportunity to rouse attendees and hopefully get them
to convert interest into action. The past three years have been
anticlimactic, this year especially. The closing is an opportunity to
rally the troops and send them off revved up and ready to engage.
Instead, this year was a sad talk show conversation. Last year was
better with Janine Benyus and EO Wilson. Each of them presented
compelling material and then sat down for a conversation between
colleagues. It was clear they had incredible respect for one another.
Their excitement was palpable and infectious. Hopefully next year will
be better.
I’m
already looking forward to next year in Chicago. I have to determine a
better game plan to get even more done in the limited time available.
If you attended this year, or plan to next year, let me know. I would
love to hear your opinion.
Written by Kevin O’Donnell, fundamentalist at thread collaborative. To read more, please visit our web site.
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