Desmond Tutu to Keynote Greenbuild International Conference & Expo

Archbishop Desmond Tutu will be the opening Keynote speaker for the U.S. Green Building Council's annual Greenbuild Conference & Expo to be held in Boston this November.

The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) announced yesterday that Archbishop Desmond Tutu will be the opening Keynote speaker for USGBC’s annual Greenbuild Conference & Expo. Greenbuild will be held November 17-19, 2008, in Boston.

Bishop Tutu, a Nobel Peace Laureate, lead a crusade for social justice and racial conciliation in South Africa as then-General Secretary of the South African Council of Churches. Today, he is revered worldwide as a “moral voice” seeking to end poverty and human rights abuses.

“Bishop Tutu’s life, work, and message demonstrate the power of transformational change,” commented Rick Fedrizzi, President, CEO & Founding Chairman of USGBC. “Bishop Tutu’s role in ending Apartheid in South Africa and bringing reconciliation to its people will inspire us towards the transformation of our buildings to a sustainable future, and will give us an extraordinary example of social justice in action.”

Tutu’s many accomplishments include receiving the Nobel Peace Prize in 1984; the Albert Schweitzer Prize for Humanitarianism; and the Magubela prize for liberty in 1986. He is committed to stopping global AIDS and has served as the honorary chairman for the Global AIDS Alliance. In February 2007 he was awarded Gandhi Peace Prize by Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, president of India.

USGBC’s annual Greenbuild International Conference & Expo brings thought leaders, great ideas, important innovations, the latest building products and systems, and more than 25,000 green building professionals together to share insights and information. To be held in Boston, Greenbuild’s 2008 programmatic theme is “Revolutionary Green: Innovations for Global Sustainability.” Additional speakers will be announced later this year.

The U.S. Green Building Council is a nonprofit membership organization whose vision is a sustainable built environment within a generation. Its membership includes corporations, builders, universities, government agencies, and other nonprofit organizations. Since UGSBC’s founding in 1993, the Council has grown to more than 13,000 member companies and organizations, a comprehensive family of LEED green building rating systems, an expansive educational offering, the industry’s popular Greenbuild International Conference and Expo, and a network of 72 local chapters, affiliates, and organizing groups. For more information, visit www.usgbc.org.

The U.S. Green Building Council’s Greenbuild International Conference & Expo convenes the industry’s largest gathering of representatives from all sectors of the green building movement. Three days of extensive educational programming, workshops, a vast exhibition floor and ample networking events provide unrivaled opportunities to learn about the latest technological innovations, explore new products, and exchange ideas with other professionals. Greenbuild 2008 will be held on November 17-19, 2007 in Boston, MA. Last year’s conference drew over 23,000 attendees and featured more than 850 exhibit booths. Visit www.greenbuildexpo.org for more information. To view last year’s Greenbuild show, go to www.greenbuild365.org.

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