I was delivering a lunchtime speech to a group of real estate professionals yesterday and the first question I received was “how can I expand my green building business?” I retell that because it is a variation of the question I receive most often these days about green building.

My answer is simple. Attend the U.S. Green Building Council’s annual Greenbuild Conference and Expo.    

This year Greenbuild is in New Orleans from October 22 – 24. 

I am not a business marketing expert, but Greenbuild has been the number one source of new business for my green building law firm!

I have been attending Greenbuild on and off over 12 years. Last year, Greenbuild 2013 in Philadelphia was a far cry from the first USGBC “Green Building Conference” (yes, pre Greenbuild) held in conjunction with the National Institute of Standards in Gaithersburg, Maryland in 1994 which had 450 people in attendance. Last year dwarfed the first Greenbuild in 2002 when 4,189 people gathered in Austin. While I have not seen actual attendance numbers, I suspect more than 30,000 attended last year, making it the largest green building gathering each year and the best opportunity for networking among your peers.

Last year event company Hanley Wood acquired Greenbuild from USGBC (actually in advance of last year’s convention) and this will be their first expanded and bigger production. Hanley Wood is alos producing the international Greenbuild shows. 

It is all but impossible not to encounter new vendors and suppliers with more than 800 exhibitors on the Expo floor.  Educational activities abound, not only in the classrooms but some of the most cutting edge are in the Expo. For example, last year there was an asphalt pavement booth with scientific studies challenging what we think we know about urban heat island effect.

Greenbuild 2014 in New Orleans will be “the” target rich environment for green building people this year.

Today may be the last day for early bird registration discounts. So register today.

It is only 68 days until this once a year opportunity to expand your green building business.

And for those who will complain that this blog post is shameless promotion of USGBC, that might be true, but it is also correct that Greenbuild has been the number one source of new business for my green building law firm!

Having fun is also part of the Greenbuild experience. As a reader of this blog, if you email me, I will buy you a drink at a New Orleans watering hole or a coffee and beignet at Café Du Monde.