Boulder To Host Green Building Conference

BOULDER, CO - Local homeowners, green building professionals and public officials will get a chance to share ideas and innovation this weekend as the first Boulder County Green Building Conference kicks off Friday night. The conference was organized in response to increased public awareness of green building and new local green building codes, said Julie Herman, executive director of the Boulder Green Building Guild.

"We want to educate the community about how to achieve and even go beyond what's required," Herman said. "We thought the conference would be a great format to demonstrate what can be done and what has been done already."

Boulder County Commissioner Will Toor will give Saturday's keynote address about how to achieve significant carbon reductions in Boulder County, Herman said. In-depth workshops about green materials and building science, along with case studies of successful commercial and residential projects, will be held concurrently throughout the day.

Herman said that in addition to stricter local green building codes, increased awareness of climate change and high energy costs have gotten more people interested in green building. "It's definitely a national trend, although I think we are at the cutting edge of implementing and making a comprehensive approach," Herman said. Boulder's revised Green Points program went into effect in February, and the new Boulder County BuildSmart program began in May.

The conference wraps up Sunday at the Boulder Green Building Guild's second-annual Product and Service Fair, where more than 65 local green building companies will display public exhibits. Several free workshops will be held throughout the day on topics such as efficient home cooling, green interior design and solar energy.

"We are thrilled to be a sponsor because we have so many amazing local resources here that focus on green building, renewable energy and energy efficiency," said Elizabeth Vasatka, the green building environmental coordinator for Boulder. "To highlight our own expertise locally is something we've wanted to do for a long time," Vasatka said.