One highlight of this year's Greenbuild, held Oct. 4-7, occurred outside of the Metro Toronto Convention Centre, when four environmental groups ran a full-page ad in the Toronto Star calling the U.S. Green Building Council's proposed changes to wood certification policies "greenwash."
In the ad, Forest Ethics, the Rainforest Action Network, Greenpeace and the National Wildlife Federation complained that the proposed LEED 2012 changes would "reward builders who use wood from some of North America's worst clearcuts or from rainforest destruction around the world … In addition to bringing greenwash into LEED, the proposed changes would also weaken demand for sustainable forest products."
Inside the convention center, columnist and author Thomas Friedman challenged attendees in the keynote address to continue innovating despite the world's "grim" political and economic environments, according to Eco Home Magazine. "Those of us hoping for a green revolution in this administration are going to be disappointed," said Friedman, whose keynote address can be viewed here.
While official figures have yet to be released, initial reports show attendance for this year's event was 23,000, down from 2010's 28,000.
