The enthusiasm was infectious for all the green products and sustainable building information at the 2010 GreenBuild International Conference and Expo held last week in Chicago. The attendees were upbeat about their prospects moving forward and so were all the manufacturers hoping to see some growth in the construction sector during 2011.

Prior to the show McGraw Hill had predicted a rise of 8% in construction starts with a majority of the projects being residential. However, airports, transportation infrastructure and schools all seem to be very active sectors now and into next year from what I'm hearing.

The next GreenBuild will be held in Toronto next year and will be held a month earlier than usual from October 4-7. The Canadian Green Building Council (CaGBC) will host the event, which is the first one held outside the United States.

Other noteworthy announcements during GreenBuild this year was the strategic partnership announced between GreenBuilding (GreenSpec) and the Green Building Network (PharosProject). The move is expected to provide architects, designers and specifiers with an authoritative source of independent information about building products, as neither organization accepts advertising and operates on a subscription basis. I've always considered these two green product sources to be the Consumer Reports of green product information for building project teams. The new site www.GreenSpecPharos.com will provide access to the combined product research of both organizations. That means a great resource for project teams and maunfacturers need to get their product information in front of the product reviewers at both organizations. Alex Wilson and Nadav Mailin at GreenBuilding are also the main editorial contributors for GreenSource magazine, the print publications that arrives monthly to all of the U.S. Green Building Council members.

Another subject of talk during the show was the Construction Specifications Institute's new Corporate Partner Program. The CPP is geared toward companies who want to take advantage of value pricing on multiple CSI membership, certification, education, CSI Academies and advertising and sponsorship opportunities.  Joining CSI and taking advantage of the networking opportunities at the chapter level has proven to stimulate business connections and opportunities in the commercial construction markets. Current CPP members include: Kingspan, Morin, ATAS, LG Hausys and Glidden Professional.  For more information on CSI’s Corporate Partner Program, please contact: Green Apple Group's president Paul Nutcher, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

TAGS: LEED, Constructon Specifications Institute, CSI Corporate Partner Program, CSI Academies, U.S. Green Building Council, GreenSource magazine, Pharos Project, GreenBuilding, Green Building Network, Canadian Green Building Council, Solar Decathlon, GreenSpec, GreenBuild, McGraw Hill, green marketing, green building, sustainability consulting, sustainable, Living Building Challenge, CHPS, Collaborative for High Performance Schools, LEED 2012, public comment