Blue Tech Makes a Splash at Greenbuild

Day two of Greenbuild is a wrap, and what a whirlwind it’s been. Here are a couple of impressions after surveying the Greenscape:

1. Commercial builders just aren’t feeling the pinch like green home builders are. The big construction companies tell me that while big projects may be on hold, that doesn’t mean building owners are cutting green features.
2. It is impressive to see the number of “blue” water tech companies on display – especially on a day when my home town of Milwaukee announced that its water technology sector is hauling in $10 billion annually.

Blue really is the new green. Wisconsin company Kohler made a statement this year. Not only did the company showcase a full range of water-efficient gear but Kohler was one of the show’s platinum sponsors.

This has been a good year for the company’s sustainability bona fides. Last month, the EPA named Kohler WaterSense Partner of the Year. With 1/3 of the world facing fresh water shortages by 2025, Kohler’s water conservation evangelism is a welcome development.

Speaking of water, I spent some time talking with UTC Fire & Security about their Hi-Fog fire suppression product. Hi-Fog generates a fine mist to put out fires, using 90 percent less water than traditional sprinklers. It’s just as effective and causes less water damage. UTC tells me Hi-Fog is especially popular with museums and libraries. Its contribution to water sustainability? Probably negligible. But the product is still pretty cool and innovative.

I also dropped by old friend Cooper Power Systems’ booth for a tour of what’s new. Cooper is pushing soy-based transformer coolant to replace nasty old mineral oil. Not only is the stuff non-toxic and biodegradable, but it extends insulation life by a factor of five to eight times. You have to love it when the new green alternative outperforms what it’s replacing by almost every measure.

Naturally, lots of energy efficiency and renewable energy solutions were on display as well. With carbon caps and additional efficiency regulations on the horizon, the companies pioneering those solutions have bright futures. The president of Optimum Energy told me his “personal Pickens Plan” is to require that all commercial buildings meet ENERGYSTAR standards. It’s an aggressive idea. But it’s not quite as unrealistic as it may have seemed, say, November 3rd now is it?

Desmond Tutu, Van Jones Open Greenbuild on Optimistic Note

Here’s the dirty little secret of green business: What makes sense for the environment often makes sense for the bottom line. In green buildings, up-front investments in energy efficiency pay for themselves in energy savings.

Some cynics have written off the green revolution as opportunism fueled by escalating energy costs and cheap capital. Drive down energy prices, choke off capital markets and the fad will go away.
A month ago you could have counted me among the cynics, but after the first full day of Greenbuild, I’m a green true believer. Not only is attendance at the continent’s largest green building tradeshow breaking records, but spirits are high.

Nobel laureate Archbishop Desmond Tutu set a provocative tone in his opening address. “It is becoming part of the fabric of our morality that causing harm to the environment is as egregious as a human rights violation.”

Overstatement? Perhaps. Inspiring to hear it from a man who fought apartheid? Definitely.

Later, author and Green for All president Van Jones called the green energy the foundation of America’s future prosperity. The U.S. will replace consumerism with local production, overreliance on credit with thrift, and environmental destruction with environmental conservation, Jones said. He called Barack Obama the country’s “first green president” and prevailed on his administration to keep its promises to cap carbon, retrofit American homes and buildings (“The biggest weapon in the new green economy will be a calk gun.”) and overhaul the American power grid.

The Dow may have dropped below 8,000 today, but word from the Boston Convention Center was full speed ahead. If business is slow for America’s green builders, you wouldn’t know it from here.

Tomorrow: highlights from the Expo floor.