I have been working with the Northeast Sustainable Energy Association (NESEA) off and on since 1993.  Yet, 5 years ago New Commons decided to go deep and get more involved with NESEA as a member organization and to lead into the 21st century with a new conference track called Whole Systems in Action.  Every year NESEA runs a Building Energy conference that brings together diverse disciplines of builders, developers, engineers, property management companies, and professional service providers all working in sustainable energy solutions and whole systems thinking.  The 2012  conference is March 6 - 8 at Boston Seaport World Trade Center. See more here

This year, I am the conference chair...a very intense and fabulous experience working with a cadre of over 100 NESEA members and staff to design an amazing, interactive and unique community learning experience!  The keynote speaker isn't--instead it is a "Keynote Experience" during the opening plenary with three NESEA members telling their story about what they are doing to create breakthroughs that "change the game" with sustainability.

On Tuesday night I will be leading the Community Forum, which is open to the public.  This is a highly interactive forum that asks deep questions about vision and practice for our communities around sustainable building and energy. We have some key questions about:

• What do you want to learn at BuildingEnergy 2012?
• How are you creating change?

We have 10 tracks this year, and our key interest is in Whole Systems in Action:  where we look at not only the built environment, but how it intersects with teams, communities, cities, villages and the ecosystem!

Here are the 10 tracks which offer something for every discipline:

Track 1: Renewable Energy
Track 2: Single Family Residential - New and Retrofit
Track 3: Boston Society of Architects - Residential Design
Track 4: Multi-family Buildings - New and Retrofit
Track 5: Commercial Buildings: Campus and Community
Track 6: Commercial Buildings: Health Care
Track 7: What the Pros Want to Know
Track 8: Green Financing  & Game Changers
Track 9 : High Performance Mechanicals & Renewable Heating
Track 10: Whole Systems in Action

Come to the conference to see WSIA in action and see how innovation in today's building and development is creating a more sustainable present and future for our region. Click here for more conference information and to register.

Some highlights for the conference include:

Wednesday 3/7:Green Venture Capital with Zaid Ashai of Point Judith Capital
This session will focus on Clean Technology investments for Point Judith Capital, including investments in companies like Earth Aid, Nexamp and Power Assures. Attendees will learn what venture capitalists are looking for and the kinds of opportunities they are funding.

See here for a full listing of Wednesday's sessions

Thursday 3/8: Finding Your Place in the Next Economy, with John Abrams, John Cavanaugh Terry Mollner
Our economy is based on constant growth, but the growth economy is likely to skid to a halt (or it may have already done so). Many are working on the transition to a new steady-state economy, but what will it mean for us? John Abrams will convene a conversation with several leading practitioners and advocates for the New Economy.

See here for a full listing of Thursday's sessions

NESEA 2012 Building Energy conference is the place to be for anyone interested in sustainability. Do plan to attend at least 1 day of the conference if not all three. Click here for more conference information and to register.

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