MEDIA CONTACT: Terry Gearing
561-799-8026, gearing@fau.edu
Roy O. Bonnell, Jr.
239-263-6819, ExecDir@FloridaGreenBuilding.org

FAU Jupiter To Host Major Green Building Conference

JUPITER, FL (April 28, 2004) - Florida Atlantic University and the Center for Urban and Environmental Solutions (CUES) will host GreenTrends 2004, a green building conference and trade show on Monday, May 3 through Wednesday, May 5, 2004 at the FAU MacArthur Campus, 5353 Parkside Drive, Jupiter. As Palm Beach County plans to offer incentives for "green" architectural design in building The Scripps Research Institute project, the conference will be of interest to local residents and businesses. The event is co-sponsored by the Florida Green Building Coalition, Inc.

The theme for GreenTrends 2004 is "Green Building Enters the Mainstream," reflecting the rapid growth and adoption of green building and sustainable development standards by major developers and building contractors from across Florida. These standards recognize environmental stewardship and allow consumers and government agencies to rely on "certified" green projects to assure there is no "greenwashing." The conference will serve as a forum to bring together those businesses, organizations, professions and individuals who are involved with or interested in learning about green building and sustainable development in Florida. It will provide participants with an opportunity to keep up-to-date on the various green building related programs, projects, standards, incentives, resources, technologies and new materials that are currently available.

"GreenTrends 2004 offers the local community a unique opportunity to learn about 'green' building," said Roy Bonnell, Jr., executive director of the Florida Green Building Coalition, Inc. "We hope that those involved in the local building and development industries, realtors, local school facilities staffs, environmental groups, local government officials and their planning staffs, as well as interested citizens, will take advantage of this great opportunity and attend the conference."
Pre-conference workshops on Monday, May 3 are open to the general public and do not require attendance at the conference. Sessions include Checklist for Sustainable Development, Preserving Wildlife Habitat in Residential Developments, GreenSmart®Pro 101- Green Homes Marketing & Sales Course, Florida Yards and Neighborhoods Course and ECO DÉCOR: Ecological Design & Decoration. Professional CEU credits are available for most of these courses. For more information on times, location, course fees and how to register, visit the GreenTrends 2004 website at www.GreenTrends.org/2004/home2004.htm and click on "Workshops."

The main conference and trade show, held on Tuesday and Wednesday, May 4 & 5, will feature sessions on a variety of green building related topics. The keynote address, Green Building Products: Beyond Recycled Content, will be presented by Alex Wilson, president of BuildingGreen, Inc. and executive editor of Environmental Building News. The presentation is open to the public on a space-available basis.

Two tours will be offered on Wednesday afternoon. Karen Childress of WCI Communities will lead a tour of the Evergrene development and Green Model Home and Ed Maietta of CUES will lead a tour of the Abacoa community.

Innovative green building products and services will be showcased in the GreenTrends exhibit areas located in Rooms 102, 103 & 104 of the MacArthur Campus AD building. The exhibit areas are open to the general public free of charge on Tuesday, May 4 from 12:00 - 5:00 p.m. and on Wednesday, May 5 from 7:30 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.

The fee for the two-day GreenTrends Conference is $150 and includes attendance at all conference sessions, two lunches, green tours, social hour and a copy of the conference proceedings. Registration for the conference is available on-line on the GreenTrends 2004 website at www.greentrends.org/2004/home2004.htm.

For information on the conference, contact Edward Maietta at emaietta@fau.edu or Roy O. Bonnell, Jr. at ExecDir@FloridaGreenBuilding.org.

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