The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) announced it will once again join Enterprise Community Partners (Enterprise) and the Institute for Professional and Executive Development (IPED), an affiliate of Nixon Peabody LLP, to co-host the Affordable Housing Summit at Greenbuild.
The summit will take place Nov. 19-20, 2013, in Philadelphia at the Greenbuild International Conference & Expo, the world's largest conference and expo dedicated to green building. USGBC's ongoing partnership with Enterprise and IPED to host the summit helps to ensure there will be strong educational content on affordable housing at the conference.
"We're trying to do our part to transform the face of affordable housing and community development, which has become a significant force in the national sustainability movement," said Jeffrey Lesk, co-chair, Greenbuild Affordable Housing Summit and Nixon Peabody LLP partner. "Our most important goal is to remind people that sustainability isn't complete unless we address both natural and human resources."
The two-day summit will open with a keynote presentation featuring Philadelphia Office of Housing and Community Development Director Deborah McColloch and Philadelphia Office of Sustainability Policy and Program Manager Alex Dews. This opening presentation will be followed by various educational sessions focused on securing financing for green affordable housing projects; developing and managing such projects; and implementing policy to enhance community resilience, transform neighborhoods and improve lives.
On the second day of the summit, attendees will be free to take advantage of any education sessions occurring during the opening day of Greenbuild, Nov. 20, with sessions focused on affordable housing suggested for summit attendees. The two-day summit structure will also allow participants to attend the Greenbuild Opening Plenary, featuring former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton.
"Once again this year the Affordable Housing Summit at Greenbuild will bring together community development leaders from across the country to learn from each other and share emerging strategies to transform affordable housing and create a more sustainable built environment," said Thomas Osdoba, co-chair, Greenbuild Affordable Housing Summit and vice president for green initiatives, Enterprise Community Partners. "Enterprise and our partners are committed to challenging ourselves and the community development sector as a whole to embrace sustainable practices by 2020. This year's conference will be one more step toward realizing our collective vision of delivering healthy, green and affordable housing to low-income communities nationwide."
"Improving the efficiency and health of affordable housing is a key priority in the mission of transforming the built environment," said Bryan Howard, USGBC legislative director and Affordable Housing Summit co-chair. "With more than half of all LEED-certified homes meeting affordable housing designation, there has been great progress, but much remains to be done. The summit will build on past great efforts to inspire and educate those who are new to green building and early adopters alike."
This 2013 summit is again made possible through the generous support of the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, which is providing overall program and scholarship funding. More information about the scholarship program can be found on the Greenbuild website.
Greenbuild 2013 will feature three days of networking, educational sessions, green building tours, master speakers and plenary events. Registration for Greenbuild and the Affordable Housing Summit at Greenbuild is currently open. For more information on Greenbuild 2013, visit greenbuildexpo.org.
