More than 25,000 people visited more than 1,300 vendors during the annual Greenbuild conference and exhibition held at Boston's BCEC from November 19–21, 2008.
Greenbuild is presented annually by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), a nonprofit organization composed of more than 16,500 member organizations ranging from private companies to nonprofits, educational institutions and government agencies — all working to transform the building industry.
Since its founding in 1993, USGBC has been at the forefront of green building, introducing the nationally used LEED® green building certification system in 2000 and launching the Greenbuild Conference in 2002.
This year's show explored "Revolutionary Green: Innovations for Global Sustainability," offering a variety of educational sessions, full- and half-day LEED workshops, well-known speakers, special events, and building tours.
Each year at Greenbuild, one of the highlights is the assortment of master and keynote speakers, comprised of internationally renowned industry experts and influential leaders.
This year, world-renowned leader Archbishop Desmond Tutu took the stage as the opening Keynote speaker. A Nobel Peace Laureate, Bishop Tutu has led a crusade for social justice and racial reconciliation in South Africa as then-general secretary of the South African Council of Churches. Today, he is known worldwide as a "moral voice" seeking to end poverty and human rights abuses.
New to this year's show was "Green Homebuilder's Day", a day of programming and panels of industry experts dedicated to various residential green building topics. Green Homebuilder's Day included Kevin O'Connor, host of This Old House.
A variety of workshops and educational sessions were also offered throughout the show. For the first time, this year's selection of over 100 educational sessions also included programs that have been approved through the USGBC Education Provider Program.
