Registration - Conference Center Lobby
Exhibitors Open-Great Hall
Welcome/Opening Remarks - Great Hall
Making Sustainability Work, Keynote Speaker: Norm Christopher, VP of Sustainability, Grand Valley State University - Great Hall
Norman Christopher, Executive Director of Sustainability at Grand Valley State University will share how GVSU and other local organizations are making sustainability work to their advantage. Norman is also in a leadership role for the Grand Rapids Community Sustainability Partnership Agreement which now has more than 165 members. His interaction with many organizations within our region, within the state of Michigan and now across the nation, as west Michigan has become one of the top leaders on this topic, allows him to gain insight from all market segments. Learn how your organization can benefit from joining this worthwhile movement that is revolutionizing society.
What’s New with LEED Operations & Maintenance and LEED 2009
The US Green Building Council has developed the LEED for Operations and Maintenance for Existing Buildings as the premier O&M building operations protocol. Improved building performance leading to energy cost savings and improved employee productivity are driving the rush to LEED EB O&M (EBOM) Certification. We will describe how EBOM can be implemented in your facility, and how the upcoming LEED 2009 revisions will affect the program. If you are a building Owner or Facility Manager with a building inventory over two years old, then this is for you.
Seize the Green: Optimizing Your Hotel Operations
Green hotels, motels and resorts can be leaders in saving energy and protecting the environment. In this workshop you will learn ways to improve environmental procedures and practices in a hotel including energy conversation, air quality, reduced water consumption and waste. The workshop will also review the Michigan Energy Office and DEQ’s Green Lodging Certification program.
Approaches to Sustainability During Market Turbulence
Reducing waste, saving energy, preserving landfills, minimizing water pollution and preventing global warming are all key issues in protecting our environment. Recycling plays a vital role in this process. This workshop will outline fundamental steps, programs and materials available to recycling items such as paper, plastic, iron, aluminum, copper, brass, and stainless steel. This session will also look in depth at the current vulnerability of the scrap market and how to get the most value out of the material. Any organization generating recyclable materials will benefit from this workshop.
The Bug Stops Here: Natural Solutions for Pest Management
Synthetic pesticides are the single largest class of toxic chemicals of which the total population worldwide is exposed. Over use can result in pervasive environmental contamination of air, water, food and health. This workshop will review natural solutions as a first defense in pest management.
Environmental Impacts of Carpet Care
Good carpet care will make an impact on the environment. This presentation looks at the environmental effects of neglecting carpet care and the positive impacts of a proper and routine carpet maintenance program. The presenter will also review indoor air quality, life-cycle costs and soil management as it relates to carpet.
Michigan’s Business Pollution Prevention Partnership – Source Reduction to Achieve Sustainability
The mission of the Michigan Business Pollution Prevention Partnership (MBP3) is to advance pollution prevention activities in the State of Michigan by encouraging business to initiate and expand their current P2 practices and by providing public recognition for their individual efforts. The partnership promotes the application of cost effective, innovative techniques which lead to reductions in waste. Source reduction is the key to sustainable business; however, reuse and recycling efforts remain an important aspect to overall success. Jeff Spencer, Program Manager, Environmental Science and Services Division, Michigan Department of Environmental Quality will help get you started down this path and share with you what he sees other businesses and organizations doing to achieve success with this program.
Benchmarking Sustainability in Manufacturing
If you are a supplier to the office furniture industry you will be particularly interested in learning about the new BIFMA (Business and Institutional Furniture Manufacturers Association) sustainability standard. The standard was developed in order to provide the marketplace with a meaningful benchmark that would harmonize sustainability standards for the office furniture industry and help to distinguish environmentally preferable business and institutional furniture.
LEED & Life Cycle Analysis: Lessons Learned in the Capital City
The impacts of a facility built with sustainable design and construction can be a challenging but important measurement. Indoor air quality, occupant health, productivity and wellness are some of the factors to be considered in building and operating a sustainable facility. This workshop will present a case study of lessons learned from a capital city project.
Commissioning as a Conservation Method and Money Making Tool
This workshop moves commissioning from the role of simply coordinating a process that optimizes building performance to that of a business tool that delivers triple bottom line benefits. The session leader will explain the commissioning process, define the different types of commissioning and view commissioning in terms of costs savings and environmental impacts. This will include the role of commissioning in all steps of the design / build process from the programming to occupancy phase. The program will re-cast commissioning, re-commissioning, existing building commissioning, continuous commissioning and LEED® commissioning as enterprise wide business tools dealing with total costs, benefits, life cycles, energy use, construction costs and environmental impacts.
Increase the Efficiency of your HVAC system
During this session, you will learn how your mechanical service provider can work with you to develop a maintenance plan which includes environmentally-friendly "green" tasks to guarantee enhanced system efficiency, less reliance on fossil fuels, decreased operating costs and compliance with LEED Operations and Maintenance requirements. This discussion will focus on low cost ways that you can reduce energy usage and increase the indoor air quality in your Existing Building. During these times of rising energy costs and increased focus on sustainable equipment operation, it is more important than ever that you are getting the most from your HVAC system.
Native Landscaping for Sustainable Development and LEED Credits
The use of native plants in the landscape is a preferred choice for integrating sustainable or low impact development concepts, enhancing your property, and saving on long-term landscaping or maintenance costs. Learn the benefits of using native plants, how to successfully integrate native plants into your business or residential property, and how native plant utilization can help you obtain LEED credits for your project. Case studies and project examples where native plants have been incorporated will also be presented.
Beyond Clean: Advanced Environmental Discussion for Executives
Learn what it means to work beyond products and services to truly advance your operation into an environmentally conscious organization. You’ll learn about LEED certification for your own facility, greening the supply chain, running vehicles on biodiesel, driving hybrid cards, facility energy reductions and more. Plus, address how climate change, sustainability and take-back can fit into a green program.
Success with Teamwork: A Look at Environmental Assistance Programs
An important element of sustainable business is understanding environmental objectives pertaining to your business activities and your options for assistance. The Environmental Assistance Program (EAP) of the Michigan Department of Environmental offers a number of outreach tools that organizations can use to align with environmental objectives. Dave Fiedler, Manager of the EAP, will explain what those services are and will address some commonly asked questions by building operators about state and federal regulations. This discussion will include what equipment needs a state air permit, asbestos notifications, and proper disposal of wastes such as light bulbs and floor cleaners.
Custodial GS-42 Certification
Two years ago Green Seal™ introduced the Environmental Standard for Cleaning Services, GS-42. The certification program provides building service contractors and in-house service providers with objective guidance that helps them develop a green cleaning program. This session will give an overview of the five core areas of GS-42 - planning, requirements for products, supplies and equipment, cleaning procedures, communications and training – as well as the certification’s validation of a BSC or cleaning departments green cleaning program.
Case Study: Nichols Journey to LEED
Dedication to continuous improvement is the catalyst for Nichols sustainability initiatives. For a number of years the company has been a Michigan leader in promoting clean, healthy, high performance facilities. Certifying the renovated corporate office and distribution center for LEED-EBOM has been an important step to the companies benchmarking of building performance, operational improvement and environmental performance. This case study will reveal the benefits and challenges of the current journey.
Environmental Sustainability and Career Advancement
Understanding the business case for environmental sustainability offers an opportunity to help you advance your career and your company improve its profits. This session will provide a foundation for understanding the major forces driving humanity toward environmental sustainability and how internal sustainability champions can marshal these forces to help their company’s increase operational efficiency, improve health and safety, reduce waste, and advance your career options.
Stormwater Management : Why you should care!
Storm water runoff is one of the biggest contributors to pollution in our lakes and streams. How can you help limit this pollution from your facility? We will discuss what storm water management is, how you can build it into your operations of your facility, and how with a few simple improvements, you can save 80% of the pollution that is added to our waterways. This session will also discuss LEED for Sustainable Sites and how Storm water management is part of this process.
Renewable Energy and Energy Optimization
Today, much of the energy we use is dependent on fossil fuels. These include coal, oil, natural gas, gasoline and diesel fuels. As you know, resources for such fuels are in limited supply, and as a society our energy needs are continually growing. What can we do to meet those challenges in both the short term and long term? In this workshop participants will learn about Consumers Energy's Green Generation renewable energy program and the state mandated energy efficiency programs available to energy consumers.
Green Cleaning Fundamentals: Overcoming Confusion and Getting Down to Business
If you don’t have time to sort through all the green cleaning claims and confusion and want the straight story on the growing requirements for our industry, this is the session for you. Learn how to best define green in context of this industry, the most common roadmaps used by building owners and facility managers, to certify or not to certify, identifying opportunities and more.
Green Building Initiatives and Policies in the City of Grand Rapids
The City of Grand Rapids has worked to be a leader in the sustainable building world, with the most LEED-certified buildings per capita in the country, as well as a number of green building “firsts.” This presentation will focus on policies and initiatives currently underway in the City which seek to facilitate sustainable development, including the city’s new zoning ordinance and green building policy. Additionally, several case studies of green buildings will be presented, with analysis of the city’s role in the financing, permitting, construction of those buildings.
Understanding the Benefits of Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design (LEED) for Schools
In April 2007 the U.S. Green Building Council introduced a new LEED certification program for schools with the objective of having every child in the United States attending a green school in one generation. A national review of thirty green schools demonstrated that green schools cost less than 2 percent more than conventional schools, but provide benefits well in access of the investment. Green schools enhance student learning, reduce health and operational costs, and ultimately increase school quality and competitiveness.
Marketing Your Green Story
What’s your story? Are you sharing your good work? Collaborating on and communicating your environmental accomplishments will create advocacy for your objectives, commend good work and differentiate your organization in the market place. This session will review practical marketing strategies and benefits to sharing your green story.
Healthy Air, Healthy Buildings, Healthy People
Indoor air quality is a key indicator of healthy buildings and plays a major role in the health of its occupants. This workshop will increase your awareness for classic and emerging indoor air quality issues and provide knowledge of the tools available to measuring and maintaining high standards for indoor air quality.
What is Green Chemistry?
This workshop will review the basic scientific and environmental concepts of green chemistry, life cycle analysis, volatile organic compounds, green chemistry standards like EPA and Green Seal as well as ways to adapt green chemistry into your organizational objectives.
RECONNECT: Recycling Electronics
The fast pace changes in technology creates an over abundance of electronic waste. This workshop will review how to’s and resources for setting up a recovery, reuse and environmentally responsible electronics recycling program for your organization.
Product Standards and Certifications: A Piece of the Puzzle
The increased awareness and interest in green and sustainable initiatives creates a demand for understanding product standards and certifications. This workshop will start with a discussion of why standards and certifications exist and how they can be used to facilitate business transactions. The various types of standards and certifications will be reviewed along with some examples of each, such as MBDC's Cradle 2 Cradle, Greenguard, CRI’s Green Label Program, BIFMA's Furniture Emissions standard, Green Seal, LEED and ISO14000.