GreenDigs Blog

The newly published “Designers Field Guide to Sustainability” by LUNAR, gives guidance for designing sustainably in a quickly changing world.  This simple, 6 page booklet is intended for architects, engineers, interior designers, and graphic designers, giving great tips for designing sustainable products, all the while considering the life cycle of the product. 

My favorite tip: “#08 Design Packaging in Parallel with Products” = As an interior designer, when I order samples of green products to present to clients, they are often over packaged with huge amounts of bubble wrap in oversized boxes.  Granted, these packaging materials are recyclable, but they are almost 95% of the time oversized.  Check out the guide for more tips.

September 25-26, 2008 will mark the inaugural sustainability conference for the region, with a focus on providing education and advocacy for sustainable efforts in the upper Midwest.

This first conference will bring together building professionals, government officials, students, and the general public to learn about anddiscuss varied issues affecting our environment.  Speakers from five states, tours and other events will encourage new viewpoints and reveal new opportunities to make positive change.

Wednesday, September 24 – we’re arranging an official US Green Building Council Technical Review for LEED for New Construction and Major Renovations:  This will be an all-day workshop held at the Museum of Visual Materials www.sfmvm.com limited to 80 participants.  Earlybird cost is $375 (registration isn’t open yet) for USGBC members http://www.usgbc.org/DisplayPage.aspx?CMSPageID=1716.

Thursday, September 25 will focus on buildings and building technologies (mostly) with the opening keynote by Matthew Moore, an agricultural artist from Phoenix, AZ.  Check him out at www.urbanplough.com .  The day will end with a great party at Cherapa Place, a new green Class A office in downtown Sioux Falls.

Friday, September 26 will focus on energy policies and technologies.  We’re working on an opening keynote with Stephanie Herseth-Sandlin who is on the Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming http://globalwarming.house.gov (pretty rad link from Ms. Sandlin’s web page).

Soon, oh so soon, the www.plaingreen.org website will be up and running and soon after that registration will open for this green event – limited to 300 at $50 for the 2-day conference.  What a green bargain!!