Green California…It’s Happening Now

Green California is hosting a summit and exposition April 8-9 at the Sacramento Convention Center in Sacramento, California. Not all of this information will apply to your business, but there are some interesting classes that might help give you and your business additional insight on how to green your business and save money.

The education sessions will provide information, strategies, best practices and perspective. There are different education tracks to choose from. All sessions offer continuing education credits from Build it Green, the International Code Council and the Construction Management Association of America.

There is a pre-summit workshop “100 Best Fleets Workshop” on Monday, April 7, from 1-5 pm that will focus on best practices, solutions and issues in government fleet management. Representatives of emerging green technologies will also contribute to the panel discussion. The site says, “This is an unprecedented meeting with three of the number #1 Fleets in North America. The afternoon is designed as interactive discussions among the best-of-the-best Fleet Managers in California. This a one-time-only opportunity to benchmark, compare and confirm the operational excellence of your own fleet.”

Tuesday:

Track One is Green Innovation. Courses include:
• How real-time data, innovative software and analytical insights can make your energy efficiency investments pay off
• Rainwater Harvesting in California: Fact or Fiction?
• How Cities, Counties, K-12 and Community Colleges are using intelligent energy storage to reduce peak demand charges by 50%

Track Two is EVs and EV Infrastructure:
• Commercial Applications for Electric Vehicles
• Funding Electric Vehicles and Infrastructure
• EV Car Share—A Strategy for Smart Growth and Transportation for EJ Communities

Track Three is Local Government Best Practices:
• Three Roads to Success: Charting the Local Path to Energy Savings and Greenhouse Gas Reductions
• The Next Dimension of Recycling—Beyond Reduce, Reuse, Recycle: Understanding Options to Expand Recycling Infrastructure
• Communities “SEECing” Success and Recognition from Climate Action Planning

Track Four is Green Schools:
• Healthier Schools by Design: EPD and HPD for the Future
• Leveraging Prop 39 for Green Schools Forever: Smart Energy Investments
• Saving Water Saving Energy

Track Five is Potpourri:
• Green Purchase with Ease
• Charting the Course to a Green Future
• Agriculture and Water Sustainability: The Australia Case Study

Wednesday:

Track One is Energy and Buildings:
• Zero Net Energy Buildings: Practices, Policies and Performance
• Energy Efficiency and Demand Response Programs You Can Use
• Sustainable Communities: Solar and solar job training for low-income communities

Track Two is Innovative Funding Strategies:
• PACE Programs
• California’s Climate Investment Plan
• Market Expansion through Financing Innovation

Track Three is Water and Energy:
• Regional Water Authority Rebates and Incentives
• Conservation Strategies for Landscape Irrigation
• Water Use Efficiency in the Business Sector

Track Four is USGBC:
• The Building Health Initiative: Taking Collective Action
• The Last Mile: Energy Goals, Building Codes and Local Enforcement
• Grey, Purple, Green: Water from Policy to Pipe

Track Five is Farm to Fork to Fuel:
• Natural Gas Vehicles and Infrastructure: Real World, Best Case Roadmap Projects and Experience
• Turning Organic Waste into Gold (or Green)
• Carbon Reduction Strategies for Local Government and Business Experience

Track Six is Green Schools:
• Making the Most Out of Prop 39: School Energy Retrofits, Staff Training, Conservation & Education
• Connect the Classroom to the Campus Using the Education and the Environment Initiative (EEI) Curriculum
• Exploring California’s Water Woes with the Education and the Environment Initiative (EEI) Curriculum and Project WET

Participants can attend and pay for one session at a time. However, a la carte pricing means that two sessions are the same price as a full day of sessions.

For more information on the summit and how you can use green technology in your business, go to www.green-technology.org.

Story by Jennifer Taylor