Excitement and attendance is growing for the CIBOR Affiliates Green Series of presentations. Even with the abundance of information being promoted by USGBC and other green organizations some people are unclear as to how they can go "Green" and where to begin with the process. In an effort to address the many questions of how going green may impact our professional lives, the NHCIBOR Affiliates Committee have developed a series of twelve seminars to be presented the second Thursday of each month in 2008. Each seminar is designed to focus on a specific topic that relates to the green building process, with the format providing for roundtable discussion after a presentation by a professional on the particular topic. The seminars will be hosted on a rotating basis at LEED certified building locations in New Hampshire, The McLane Audubon Center Concord, NH, the Portsmouth Public Library Portsmouth, NH and the PSNH building in the Manchester mill yard area. Seminars will begin at 8:30 a.m. and will include a limited breakfast. Cost is $10 for CIBOR members and $15 for non-members.
The sixth seminar in the series is scheduled for Thursday July 10, 2008 at the PSNH building in the milliard of Manchester, NH. The topic will be centered on "Energy" and touch upon methods to reduce energy use, access utility incentives and an introduction to "Reggie", the regional greenhouse gas initiative.

The presentation will be made by two energy professionals from PSNH.

Anne Karczmarczyk, Marketing and Conservation Program Administrator.
Anne will describe today's energy-efficiency programs that assist small commercial, municipal, and industrial customers by looking for ways to improve productivity while reducing their electric bill. She will also describe how customers obtain utility incentives (rebates) that make energy-efficiency projects very affordable to customers.

Erica Menard, Supervisor of Performance Analysis & Planning
Erica will describe new legislation called RGGI or "Reggie" which stands for Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative. This is a regional cap-and-trade program designed to reduce emissions in a 10 state region. She will explain how this program will impact utility rates, and what opportunities may become available in terms of energy-efficiency
Subsequent seminars will follow in a sequence reflective of the planning and building process. Remaining seminars will include:

* July 10th - Green Energy
* August 14th - Finance and Green
* September 11th - Legal Aspects of Green Building
* October 9th - Green from the Realtors Perspective
* November 13th - Green from the Owners Perspective
* December 11th - Green Residential Design
* January 2009 - Panel discussion - All Speakers

The series is open to anyone that has an interest in learning more about the "Green Movement" in the New England marketplace. To learn more about the series or to sponsor or register to attend a seminar contact NHCIBOR affiliate committee chair Heather Rowan, business development manager for Office Interiors LTD at [email protected] or myself at [email protected]
Bill Jean is the director of business development at Fulcrum Associates Inc., Amherst, N.H.