Month: January 2017

We’re happy to announce a number of confirmed educational sessions:

• WaterSense at 10: The Past, Present & Future
• WERS^®: Today & Tomorrow
• Stormwater Analysis with WERS^®
• Panel Session: Making Regional Water Groups Work
• Rainwater: Inside & Out
• Case Study: Santa Fe’s Adoption of WERS^®
• WaterSense for New Homes: Why Certify?

10’ x 10’ exhibit booths are available starting at just $499! Sponsorships start as low as $500. For more information, please contact Mike Collignon.

The overarching theme of the event will be how to sustain the building/development industry in western states with declining water resources, even as the next decade experiences surging growth from retiring Baby Boomers. The first day (Sunday) will have a Green Expo at the Convention Center, with local experts doing seminars in the break-out rooms. Three educational tracks, targeting Builders & Designers, Policymakers, and Water Conservation Experts, will span two days. There will be nine general sessions on Sunday afternoon, followed by a full slate on Monday & Tuesday. Keynote speakers will open Monday & Tuesday’s proceedings. Pre-conference courses, including QWEL training, ARCSA AP training and WERS^® Verifier training, are scheduled.

Hosts of the event will be the Santa Fe Green Chamber of Commerce (lead host), Green Builder^® Coalition, City of Santa Fe, and the Santa Fe Area Home Builders Association. Santa Fe Community College is the official education sponsor, and Green Builder^® Media is the national media sponsor.

Santa Fe will host the inaugural Next Generation Water Summit on June 4-6, 2017. This first-of-its-kind, national event will feature three educational tracks, two keynote speakers and an expo. The Summit will begin with the Green Expo, an exhibition presented by the Santa Fe Green Chamber of Commerce. All events will take place at the Santa Fe Community Convention Center. City Councilor Peter Ives declared, “The City of Santa Fe is honored to host the Next Generation Water Summit, which is designed to continue the dialogue on how we can and must do more with less water.”

Water scarcity is emerging as a critical challenge to the western United States. The limits of water could halt construction in the west, bringing economic development to a standstill. This Summit will bring together a broad range of stakeholders to develop strategies that integrate a variety of interests and develop real solutions. Kim Shanahan, Executive Officer of the Santa Fe Area Home Builders Association, stated, “Future generations of homebuilders in the western United States will look back on this important water summit as the starting point for addressing the limitations that water availability imposes upon our industry. We owe those future generations our best efforts today.”

Three tracks will focus on emerging policy development, building design and construction, and water conservation tools and technologies, respectively. “Making our communities sustainable in the long term given predicted drops in renewable surface water flows, and resilient to short term and long term impacts from the effects of climate change, are critical issues across the Southwestern United States, as well as many other regions around the world,” said Ives.

Pre-Summit courses will include a Water Efficiency Rating Score (WERS^®) Verifier course, an ARCSA Rainwater Harvesting AP course, a 2-day Greywater course and a Qualified Water Efficient Landscaper (QWEL) course. All will be held at nearby Santa Fe Community College. The Next Generation Water Summit will be the first event to offer continuing education for those trained in either the WERS^® Program or WaterSense for Homes.

“The unique aspect of this event is the integration of field professionals into policy development and design,” said Green Builder^® Coalition Executive Director Mike Collignon. “The Next Generation Water Summit aims to close the loop on water efficiency, so that those who create and manage water efficiency programs can network with the practitioners of those programs.”

This event is being co-hosted by The City of Santa Fe, the Green Chamber of Commerce, the Green Builder^® Coalition and the Santa Fe Area Home Builders Association. Sponsorships, booths and attendee registration will be available in the coming weeks. For more information, please contact:

Glenn Schiffbauer
Santa Fe Green Chamber of Commerce
glenn@nmgreenchamber.com

Mike Collignon
Executive Director, Green Builder^® Coalition
info@greenbuildercoalition.org