San Diego is known for a lot of things. Comic-Con. Craft beer. Green building. Yes, the City of San Diego and the state of California as a whole are policy leaders when it comes to setting goals for using water and energy wisely and in sustainable ways, which includes encouraging green building.

We all know by now we’ve got to get serious about sustainability to stop doing damage to the planet. Plant a green roof is a good start! But what’s good for Mother Nature can also be good for the bottom line. Business can benefit from biophilic design and thinking. This is a passion for me and I write and speak on this topic frequently. So I’m excited to bring this passion to the upcoming 2016 San Diego Green Building Conference and Expo on September 16 at the SDG&E Energy Innovation Center.

I’ll be speaking on “Human Wellbeing: The WELL Building Standard and the Economic Case for Biophilic Design” as one of more than a dozen sessions during the Expo focusing on proven ways to help San Diego become a leader in meeting climate goals while offering plenty of opportunities for business, residents and visitors. Have you heard of the new “WELL Building” standard? It picks up where LEED leaves off and addresses the human occupancy side of a building. Joining me is my friend Barbara Fanning, WELL AP with Mindswing Consulting. We speak at 3 p.m. and Barbara is developing a hands-on interactive section of the program.

My presentation at the Expo in September is a warm-up for my presentation at the International Facility Managers Association annual “World Workplace” Conference in October. As a board member of Green Plants for Green Buildings, a plant advocacy non-profit dedicating to communicating the aesthetic, economic and wellbeing benefits of plants and nature in the built environment, my colleagues and I are reaching out to multiple industry conferences and sharing what we know. A huge “thank you” to Mary Golden for all of her hard work helping me put this together.

You can join us! This conference is open to the public. If you register by next Tuesday, August 2, you’ll get a 20 percent early bird discount. How’s that for helping your bottom line? Register at this link. And here’s another tip: becoming a member of the U.S. Green Building Council and you save even more, plus you get plenty of benefits including a subscription to the San Diego Business Journal worth more than the price of the membership alone.

The USGBC encourages people to attend who are construction industry professionals, developers, engineers, interior designers, architects, energy efficiency advisors, janitorial services, and people in local government, nonprofits, and education. But I think this list is too short. If you have any interest in community planning issues, traffic and density, economic development, workplace wellness or you are just plain intellectually curious, I encourage you to join us.

The State of California and City of San Diego continue to set the most stringent policy goals in water, energy and green buildings. The California 2020 goals as well as the San Diego Climate Action Plan pose unique opportunities for business growth, career development and community building. We have lots of technology and design solutions floating around out there. But if we don’t get together and talk about what we’re all doing as individuals and figure out how we can achieve these bigger picture goals together, we won’t get there soon enough. Sustainability covers a broad spectrum of interests and concerns and it can be a long-term process. So we need to get started now.

The details:

What: 2016 San Diego Green Building Conference and Expo

When: September 16, 2016, 7:30 am to 5:00 pm

Where: Energy Innovation Center, 4760 Clairemont Mesa Blvd, San Diego, CA 92117
(You can visit one of our favorite living walls at the Center)

Register at this link: http://usgbc-sd.org/SDGBCE16

See the entire schedule here.

Follow the event’s Facebook page for the latest updates here.

I look forward to seeing you there. Come up and say hello!