What's Next in Green Building? USGBC Working With Planet Forward to Cultivate Ideas

Charlie Rybak
Outreach Coordinator
Planet Forward

Re-posted from PlanetForward.org.

Do you have an idea for the next big innovation in green building? If you submit a video that tells your story in one minute or less, you could find it on display at the world’s largest green building expo.

In 1891, Clarence Kemp, a Baltimore-based entrepreneur that sold home heating equipment, came up with the idea of attaching a black box with water in it to the roof of people’s homes. He had invented the first passive solar water heater, an innovation that continues to play an important role in residential design today.

So what’s next? Who will be the next Clarence Kemp?

USGBC is teaming up with Planet Forward to host the “What’s Next?” competition. The winning videos will be featured at Greenbuild 2011, the world’s largest green building expo, which runs from October 4-7 in Toronto.

To submit a video:

1. Upload your video to YouTube or Vimeo and tag it with the keyword GBNEXT.
2. E-mail us a link to your video at GBNEXT@GreenbuildExpo.org. If you have a Twitter handle, include it in your e-mail so we can give you credit when we tweet your submission!
3. Use hashtag #GBNEXT to share your video on Twitter, and join the conversation on what’s NEXT for green building and our planet’s success.

Submissions must be received by Sept. 28, 2011.

Need inspiration? Watch videos on Planet Forward to get your creativity flowing. Here’s one on Energy Efficient Home Landscapes, and here’s one on Greensburg, Kansas, who used green building techniques to rebuild their town after it was devastated by a tornado.

Want some advice from the experts? Planet Forward provides tips on how to make a great video.

Grab Your Camera and Tell Us: What’s NEXT?

Kimberly Lewis
Vice President, Conferences and Events
U.S. Green Building Council

When I envision the future, I see a world in which the benefits of green building are experienced everywhere: From Houston to Haiti, from rural villages to bustling metropolises, from homes to high-rises.

That’s my idea for what’s next in green building and global success. What is yours?

We are extremely excited to announce the Greenbuild NEXT video campaign! We're asking YOU, the USGBC community, the Internet at large and idealists everywhere to tell us what you think is NEXT for green building, sustainability and our planet's prosperity.

Whether your idea is specific to green building (grid positive buildings everywhere?), sustainable living (bike lanes spanning the globe?), or as broad as solving global climate change (a new climate treaty?), we want to hear from you!

Your videos will be posted on the Greenbuild website, and could be featured on the big screens at Greenbuild 2011 in Toronto!

Get inspired:
Whether your video is shot on a web cam or in a studio, we want to see it and share it. Your videos can be testimonials, action sequences, animations – anything. Be creative!

Check out our 52-second kick-off video, or watch an example of a Greenbuild NEXT video submission from Jacob Monroe, USGBC's Education Resources Coordinator.

Submit your video:

1. Upload your video to YouTube or Vimeo and tag it with the keyword GBNEXT.
2. E-mail us a link to your video at GBNEXT@GreenbuildExpo.org. If you have a Twitter handle, include it in your e-mail so we can give you credit when we tweet your submission!
3. Use hashtag #GBNEXT to share your video on Twitter, and join the conversation on what's NEXT for green building and our planet's success.

The first step in creating the future is imagining it. Conceptualizing it. Predicting it. Ideas become reality. We can't wait to see what you come up with.

Learn more about the Greenbuild NEXT video campaign, watch others' videos, and submit your own! »

Watch the call-to-action video »

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