Apr 28 2009
The Los Angeles Community College District will become the first community college system ever to host the UC/CSU/CCC Annual Sustainability Conference. Organizers of the event have announced plans to hold next year's gathering at the LACCD's Los Angeles Trade-Technical College.
Conference organizers say the District was selected to host the event largely because of its leadership in sustainability and academics, as well as the partnerships it developed with neighboring schools, including USC. The statewide conference has been a resource on sustainability issues since 2001.
"Hosting next year's UC/CSU/CCC Sustainability Conference is a tremendous honor and opportunity for the District," said Sylvia Scott-Hayes, a member of LACCD's Board of Trustees who helped bring the conference to the District. "It solidifies our hard work and commitment to green building and helps bring greater awareness to the role community colleges are playing in advancing sustainability. We are thrilled to have this exciting opportunity."
"It is an incredible honor that our District will be the first community college to host this remarkable conference," said Marshall E. Drummond, chancellor, LACCD. "We take great pride in this opportunity to share our Sustainable Building and Net Zero Energy Programs with an audience that is as devoted to green building and to saving the planet's resources as we are."
Next year's conference will be held June 20-23, 2010, and will bring together teachers, researchers, staff, students and others interested in campus environmental issues from the University of California, California State University and California Community Colleges.
This year's event, "Working Our Way to Zero," at UC Santa Barbara will explore best practices in such topics as green building, energy, social equity, environmentally friendly purchasing and academics. Early registration for the June 21-24 conference ends May 19. For more information, visit www.sustainability.ucsb.edu/conference.
News of the District's selection as the 2010 conference site comes as it also is being recognized with awards by CoreNet Global and the Society for Marketing Professional Services, Los Angeles Chapter.
LACCD won CoreNet Global's 2009 Sustainable Leadership and Design Development Non-Profit award for its innovative, $5.7-billion Sustainable Building Program. As part of the program, the District plans to construct about 90 green buildings at LACCD's nine colleges, making it one of the nation's largest environmentally friendly building projects. The award was presented today (April 27) at CoreNet Global's "Buck the Trend" Summit in Dallas, Texas. For more information, visit: http://www2.corenetglobal.org/summits_events/dallas_2009/index.vsp.
The District also is among 10 international finalists being considered for the 2009 Global Innovator's Award, which is given to the agency with the most innovative project. Finalists will give presentations to CoreNet's selection committee at Emory University in August and the winner will be announced at the organization's North American Summit in Las Vegas, October 12-14.
The Society for Marketing Professional Services, Los Angeles Chapter will present its Public Sector Industry Honor Award to the LACCD at the 27th annual Leonardo Awards Program on June 11 at the Jonathan Club in downtown Los Angeles. SMPS/LA honors agencies that use creative marketing and innovation in promoting building projects. For more details, visit: http://www.smps-la.org/events9-53/27thAnnualLeonardoAwardsProgram.