Lessons from Abroad: The Danish Way or the (Bicycle) Highway

This session will dive deep into Danish ideas and solutions we might consider importing to import to Boston and other US cities, despite our very different regulatory environment. Speakers will introduce Denmark's fundamental value of planning for the common and collective good, and will share how the oil market and two back-to-back severe weather events drove this small nation to become a leader on the resiliency front.

The Campus as Crucible for Catalyzing Change

College campuses are leading the transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy at the community level. This session will combine design, technology, and policy with real-life case studies of campuses moving toward carbon neutrality. We’ll present three different colleges in Vermont, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire. What better way to help the rising generation prepare for their own future than to lead the campus, as community, into the clean-energy future?

NESEA Emerging Professionals Career Forum

It's back by popular demand! NESEA's Career Forum is a free resource extended to emerging professionals, graduate and undergraduate students pursuing a career in the high performance building and renewable energy sectors. During this forum, participants will gain insights into the sustainable building sector and strategies for obtaining related positions.  Topics for discussion will include types of careers available, strategies for gaining experience, identifying opportunities, job seeking and networking.

Is Net Zero Energy Net Zero Benefit?

Net Zero Energy (NZE), is generally thought of as the deployment of distributed renewable energy generation at the building/load location. It is offered as a key strategy in the effort to minimize and mitigate global climate change resulting from greenhouse gas emissions. But is this strategy and definition of NZE the best strategy to accomplish these goals for every building? Are there situations when NZE is not an appropriate design objective? What is the best strategy for minimizing global emissions? Should we create a new term instead of NZE? Our panel of energy professionals will present several perspectives on whether or not it makes sense to pursue NZE; or is there a better strategy for how to address net zero emissions.

Does Electric Grid 2.0 Mean Energy Democracy?

The U.S. energy system is undergoing a remarkable transformation to decentralized and renewable power. Transportation and heating are becoming electrified. Clean, renewable power is growing at an exponential rate and competing on cost with fossil fuel energy sources. Smartphones and automated controls allow an unprecedented decentralization of control. This session explores how the 21st century electric grid can give individual consumers power over their power, but only if the rules are written right.

Living Building Challenge: Historic Building, Modern Lessons

The Living Building Challenge (LBC) can be applied to any building project, including historic renovation and new construction. Charley Stevenson and John Rahill will compare and contrast the LBC renovation of an 18th century plank building to the design and construction of several new LBC buildings.  By examining the three most challenging petals (water, energy and materials) they will illuminate the benefits of and the obstacles to LBC compliance.

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