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BASF to Host Education-Building ‘Summit’

Friday, September 4, 2009

BASF on Sept. 16 will host the High Performance Buildings for Education Summit, a program that will feature a panel of experts discussing the construction and retrofitting of educational facilities that are designed to make the learning environment more energy efficient, healthy, safe, and productive.

The event will be held at 7 World Trade Center in New York, the first commercial office building in the city to receive the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification. The program’s panel of speakers will offer suggestions on the design and construction of high-performance buildings to school administrators, architects,construction companies, general contractors, and sustainable-design experts, the company said.

BASF said the timing to move forward with long-term investment in school infrastructure is appropriate, in light of the major federal economic-stimulus plan that will direct $90 billion for school upgrades.

The panel of four experts will address the financial return on investment of sustainable design and architecture, and the health and performance benefits of high performance schools. A school-district superintendent from Neptune Township, NJ, will also share the experience of building high-performance schools in his district. The speakers and their topics include:

• Rob Watson, CEO, EcoTech International and founder of the USGBC’s Building Rating system, “Learning to Build from Nature;”

• Vivian Loftness FAIA, LEED AP, professor, School of Architecture, Carnegie Mellon University and co-chairman, National Academy of Sciences Committee on Green Schools, “Greening our Nation’s Schools for Health and Performance;”

• David Mooij, superintendent of schools, Neptune Township, NJ, “A Living Textbook: Neptune’s Green Schools;” and

• Kris Kolluri, CEO, New Jersey Schools Development Authority, “Building the Financial Case for High-Performance Schools.”

The event begins at 9 a.m. EDT and ends at 12:45 p.m. EDT. Pre-registration is required, and attendees can register at the website located at www.events.basf.com/2009hpbe/.