GBA Presents: GREEN$ENSE 2006 Smart building owners and developers are constructing and operating environmentally-responsible buildings, which equate to improved performance and multiple bottom-line benefits. This year, GBA is teaming with the National Association of Industrial & Office Properties (NAIOP) to host this third-annual conference. It is targeted towards building owners, developers, facility managers, brokers and financiers who desire to gain a competitive advantage from high-performance, green building strategies. If you fit into one of those categories, mark your calendars for April 20th and 21st for Green$ense 2006! The conference will include building tours and a reception on Thursday, with a plenary speaker, information sessions and awards luncheon (featuring a keynote address from a prominent leader) the following day. Save the date--you won't want to miss this important event!

Bike PGH! Makes Available Multiple Public Bike Racks: Bicycling is one of the healthiest and most sustainable forms of transportation one can choose. This past year, Bike PGH! completed a highly visible and successful free public art bike rack program with assistance from the Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership and the Sprout Fund. Over 100 bike racks were installed throughout Pittsburgh, and the organization has additional racks for sale to businesses that wish to provide artistic parking for their bicycling customers. Please contact info@bike-pgh.org for more details.

Green Building as a Teaching Tool: On March 18 and 25, this interactive class--taught by Indigo Raffel from Conservation Consultants, Inc.--introduces educators to what makes the unique and beautiful new Children's Museum an environmentally “green” building. It also shows teachers how they can can help their schools adopt related practices through the inclusion of green building education into existing curriculums. Field trips to other green buildings will be taken. More information can be found by clicking here.

ULI Workshop: The Practice of Environmentally Sensitive Development: Through this two-day March session, learn relevant environmental, economic and design principles; identify best practices; examine "how-to" examples of specific projects; and learn how to stimulate and support market, community, and public sector acceptance. An overview of green infrastructure planning principles will be provided. Further details are available here.

National Trust Conference Scholarships: The National Preservation Conference is the premier event in the United States for professionals in preservation and related fields, dedicated volunteers and serious supporters. Each year, the National Trust offers financial assistance to enable community leaders and college students from diverse racial, ethnic and cultural backgrounds to attend this conference. The Diversity Scholarship program is administered by the Trust's Southern Regional Office (843-722-8552) and applications for the 2006 event, which takes place in Pittsburgh, PA, are due June 1, 2006.

Study Links Green Buildings to Higher Market Value: A new study led by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors shows a clear link between the environmental friendliness of a building and its market value. The international study, released in November 2005, is entitled "Green Value: Green Buildings, Growing Assets." It found that green buildings can earn higher rents and prices; attract tenants and buyers more quickly; cut tenant turnover; cost less to operate and maintain; and benefit occupants. The study also notes that roughly 40 percent of carbon emissions come from buildings. To view the complete report, please click here. For further information about the organization behind the study, visit www.rics.org.

Greenbuild 2006, Call for Session Proposals: The U.S. Green Building Council is excited to announce the Call for Session Proposals for their 2006 conference, which will be held November 15-17 in Denver, CO. This year's theme is "Taking Green Building to a Higher Elevation: Higher Potential, Higher Performance, Higher Expectations." Because of the expected large volume of submittals, competition is likely to be keen and outside reviewers will be looking for the best of the best. Electronic submissions are being accepted through February 3 at 5 p.m. EST. For more information, please visit here.

"Building Energy '06" Conference and Trade Show: The Northeast Sustainable Energy Association (NESEA) invites you to Building Energy '06, the Northeast's premier conference and trade show for renewable energy and green building professionals. Be among the 2000 expected participants, and gain valuable information and contacts to help your business not only grow, but "grow greener.” The conference features over 150 speakers and 100 exhibitors who will address a wide range of topics, such as high performance buildings; sustainable communities; wind energy; large-scale and local clean energy production; solar applications; and policy and business strategies. For more information, click here.

USGBC Member Circles: USGBC has recently launched an on-line forum that allows you to connect with professionals who have similar interests and issues; pose questions and get answers from fellow members; and share your best practices and lessons learned. Click here to learn more or sign up for a Member Circle.

LEED Presentations Now Available: Want to educate your clients—or yourself—about LEED for Commercial Interiors (LEED-CI) and LEED for Existing Buildings (LEED-EB)? Introductory PowerPoint Presentations for both building rating systems are now available for download at www.usgbc.org/leed/ci and www.usgbc.org/leed/eb. Speaker's notes are included. Be sure to follow the download instructions on the website.

AIA 2006 Top Ten Green Projects: The AIA Committee on the Environment (COTE) has begun accepting online submissions for its 2006 COTE Top Ten Green Projects awards program. Since 1996, this juried recognition program has celebrated the best in sustainable design. Award requirements are unique and require narrative descriptions, as well as performance metrics. This unusual set of requirements is part of the program's recognition of the importance of qualitative and quantitative elements of sustainable design. These COTE measures and metrics of sustainable design are a framework for a holistic understanding of sustainable design. To submit a project for consideration, visit www.aiatopten.org or email cote@aia.org for more information.