We have finished up our participation in GreenBeat 2009 conference on the Smart Grid.  Vantage Communications was a strategic partner for the event, which provided me with a unique view of a major green conference that I would like to share.

1. “VentureBeat is doing its first green conference. Would Vantage be interested in participating?” Andie Rhyins, Publisher of VentureBeat

Actually, I answered yes, before Andie finished the question.  I knew if VentureBeat was putting together a show, this was a rare opportunity to be part of an important event from the beginning.  As the first GreenBeat event, we had a clean sheet of paper and the opportunity to provide a defining voice for marketing and PR that would help attract attendees, sponsors and speakers. It also was a bit scary knowing that our white board scribble and initial PowerPoints needed to be made into a conference with topics, speakers, attendees and press in very short order.

2. “Fw: Al Gore has agreed to come to GreenBeat” Matt Marshall

This was the header of a late Friday e-mail at the end of August. In less than 10 words, the bar had been raised for everybody. It also meant that we had to rethink our media outreach for the show. You may be asking why a conference run by a highly influential blog needs to do outreach to other media?  Part of the attraction of a conference for high-level speakers is the ability to reach a large number of highly influential people. Approximately 500 people attended GreenBeat in person. However, the number of people that read about the show can be in the hundreds of thousands. While VentureBeat does provide in depth coverage of the show to its readership, it is important to maximize awareness by being seen and heard on multiple channels. Media coverage for GreenBeat inlcuded the New York Times, CNET and Earth2Tech which has an aggregate audience in the millions. Immediately following the show, Techmeme  had VentureBeat ranked #5 of the sources most frequently posted to Techmeme.  This  was a higher ranking than even the New York Times.

3. “My name is Jim Rogers and I’m one of the speakers” Jim Rogers, CEO of Duke Energy

What as particularly impressive about GreenBeat is that despite the large number of high profile speakers and attendees, there was virtually no attitude or hubris. The CEO of Duke Energy attended without entourage, and the above quote is how he introduced himself. He made himself available to anyone who wanted to talk with him. Vinod Khosla was in the lobby for much of the morning available to talk to anyone. In his talk, John Doerr gave his e-mail and invited start ups to send him business plans. I attend many conferences and I never have seen a friendlier conference than GreenBeat. This is a real testament to Matt and the GreenBeat team. I look forward to seeing you at GreenBeat 2010.

Well, we made it! We’re in Phoenix for Greenbuild 2009, and we’ve already seen some exciting new companies and products on the show floor. Plus we shot some great videos for our clients, CALMAC and IES. Here is a video of our first day at the show:

We’ve got two days packed full of meetings and additional video shoots with Serious Materials and YKK AP, and somewhere in there we will head over to see Al Gore deliver the Keynote and Opening Celebration tomorrow night with Sheryl Crow. (And just in case you aren’t here in AZ, you can check out live streams on Greenbuild’s website.)

We are looking forward to meeting green building professionals sharing their visions for the future of the industry, as well as the editors and bloggers who write about it along the way. Melissa Hincha-Ownby of Mother Nature Network has already blogged about the event. Lloyd Alter of Treehugger is here, too. Along with 24,000 registered attendees, according to the records when the show floor opened at 5:30 this evening.

Check back here daily for a round-up of news and views from the show. Next week, we will do a show wrap up. And we’ll be Tweeting live from #Greenbuild09 the rest of the week – follow @catrionaharris, @mariegoltara and @toryk for your green building fix this week.

Last night Pepcom put on their first EcoFocus event in New York City. And in the Flatiron District, almost 200 press and analysts came for free food, drinks and to experience demos from eco-friendly companies looking to get their name out there. Known for putting on mostly Mobile and Digital Technology-focused events, Pepcom moved into the new, clean tech space – and I think most vendors and attendees would agree it was a success.

While some may not be totally sold on global warming and much of the green talk that surrounds us today, this event clearly was evidence that green is more than a fad, it is an area of true innovation and growth. The vendors at last night’s event inlcude big names, like Toshiba, Lenovo and Benjamin Moore, who are recreating the wheel to become more environmentally conscious. But there also were smaller companies, such as SOMS Technologies (our client), CALMAC (our client), Green Roads and Pisat Solar, who were showcasing their innovation and passion for the environment.

The faces behind these businesses, both big and small, have a common goal – to make a positive impact on our environment. They are challenging convention, and working to change our oh so traditional behaviors to become a smarter, savvier, more eco-conscious society.

Clean technology isn’t only an expanding industry. But what this event clearly demonstrated is that it is an area of true belief, one that people have a renewed passion for. Most importantly, it is one that is and will be making a significant, positive impact for years to come.

Most people assume green building is expensive. An interesting post about a recent study published by Good Energies, a global energy efficiency and renewable energy investment company, shows some surprising conclusions about green building costs:

The built environment has a profound impact on the economy and the earth. If you haven’t checked out the website of our client, Serious Materials lately, click on over for some interesting facts on the built environment: 

“The ‘built environment’ is responsible for 52% of greenhouse gas emissions worldwide – which compares to only 9% for cars and light trucks. We can slash that number by re-engineering common products that use or lose the most energy. And local plants will create thousands of green-collar jobs here in the U.S., further reducing carbon footprints.”

With the economic outlook for 2009 looking just as gloomy as the latter part of 2008, it does seem like a lousy time to be touting construction and the like.  But while some industries may be looking for a bailout, green building is on the rise. And that’s not just good for the environment. It makes economic sense too.

Unless you have been living under a rock for the past year or so, you are already well aware of the so-called “green” buzz going on around us. From light bulbs, to eco-friendly clothing lines, we are being inundated with products claiming to be environmentally safe. With this latest trend comes the inevitable – greenwashing, which is basically misleading consumers by claiming a product is eco-friendly or environmentally sound without any definite proof.

Regulators are now starting to wisen up to these sneaky tactics, TerraChoice a Canadian environmental marketing agency recently came out with top six sins of greenwashing. This list helps consumers see how products are currently being marketed to make us believe we are helping the environment by buying their products, when a large percentage of the time the companies are falsely advertising.

At Vantage, we have seen this trend grow into a monster over the past few months, so to help our clients avoid making false claims; we ALWAYS make sure we discuss all aspects of their “green” products before presenting it to the media. Since our reputation is very important to us, we ask our clients the tough questions when in comes to the “greenness” of their products. For instance, is this product manufactured in an environmentally sound warehouse and are the performance statistics realistic for all circumstances? As companies continue to tout their products as “green” it is our responsibility to ensure we are presenting the public with FACTUAL information.