Communication
VSBN provides linkages between green building practitioners, programs, and building owners through:
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The Green Building Network — Join the Network through membership, sponsorship, advertising on the Green Bulletin Board, or adding your company/organization to the Sustainable Building Resource Directory;
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The Green Network News, an online newsletter, available to VSBN members;
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A Calendar of local, regional, and national events (add your information via email:
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Workshops and Technical Training
VSBN carries out informational events on commercial and residential Green Building and Sustainable Development concepts, design, construction, and building management practices for the building industry, architects and engineers, public officials, and facility owners and managers. These have included:
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EarthCraft House™ Trainings for home builders, in collaboration with Southface Energy Institute, to provide "whole house" design information. Read more about the EarthCraft House™ at www.vsbn.org/buildingamerica.shtml;
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Performance Contracting Seminars for local governments, schools, and other commercial building owners interested in this financing option for energy efficiency upgrades;
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High Performance Schools Workshops for K-12 school designers and school facility managers;
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Green Development Workshops, offered across the mid-Atlantic region, for developers, builders, and local governments, presented information on incorporating environmental considerations in real-estate developments;
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Affordable Housing/Livable Communities Workshops, offered in Hampton Roads and Lynchburg, VA, for affordable housing organizations, builders, and local governments; and
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Green and Affordable Technical Training, offered in Virginia and regionally for affordable housing organizations, builders, and architects.
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Conferences
VSBN organizes local, statewide, and regional events, working in partnership with other organizations, businesses, and state and federal governments. These have included:
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Virginia's Sustainable Future Conference in 1999 and 2001, working with state, federal, and private partners;
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Smart Design Forum in Washington, DC, organized in 2002 in collaboration with Sustainable Washington Alliance and other partners;
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Living Within Nature—Mountains to Sea, organized with IMPACT, in 2002 and held in Roanoke; and
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Greening the Hospitality Industry, held in 2004, working with mid-Atlantic states' Pollution Prevention Programs, EPA and DOE, and private partners.
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Technical Assistance for Green Building Projects
VSBN offers direct technical support for commercial, public, and residential building owners, managers, and designers. This support includes:
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Providing technical assistance for building retrofits and high performance new design to Rebuild America partnerships;
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Working with The Energy Consortium to provide technical assistance to home builders engaged in Building America demonstrations;
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Providing Green Building technical assistance and pre-construction training for the project manager, general contractor, architect, and subcontractors for the Winchester Greens project of the Better Housing Coalition, a Richmond-area affordable housing developer; and
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Providing a pre-construction training workshop for the GreenHOME volunteer construction crew, in cooperation with the Washington, D.C. Habitat for Humanity.
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Consumer-Oriented Presentations and Exhibits
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Exhibit at Energy Fairs in Roanoke, Richmond, and Arlington County
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Co-sponsored a Speaker Series with the Potomac Overlook Regional Park in Arlington, VA that included presentations on Energy Efficiency, Landscaping, Healthy Homes, and Solar Homes.
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