Cascadia Green Building Council's Jason McLennan talks about this week's Living Future "unconference"

Starting Wednesday, the Living Future conference will be taking place for three days at the Nines Hotel downtown this week.

Presented by the Cascadia Region Green Building Council, Living Future is labeled as "the unconference for deep green professionals" on its website. An accompanying video says, "Together imagining a world of living buildings, living sites and living communities....Learn what it takes to go deeper, to a world of true sustainability."

Leading-edge thinkers of the sustainability movement like Paul Hawken have spoken at Living Future in the past, as well as Sim Ven Der Ryn, the latter of whom has a prescription for the green movement that I love the sound of, even if I'm not completely sure what it means: going from "rigid instability to flowing resiliency".

Recently over email I interviewed Jason McLennan, CEO of the Cascadia Region GBC, about Living Future and it what it means for the chapter.

Q: How do you see Living Future fitting in to the spectrum of different design and sustainability conferences out there for architects and others in the industry to attend like Greenbuild?

A: A lot of other conferences are geared to appeal to all knowledge and experience levels; or they are more introductory.  With Living Future, we are trying to reach the deepest green leaders of the movement, targeting those who want to make huge leaps forward.  Those who attend Living Future are at the forefront of the green building movement and are looking for the next level – and we cater to that need with cutting-edge topics, revolutionary ideas and presentations from thought leaders.

Unlike other events that can top 1000+ people – where you might run into everyone you want to speak with – we keep Living Future purposefully intimate to allow multiple opportunities for participants to engage and network with each other.  Living Future is a think-tank of sorts – bringing leaders together and giving them the chance to share ideas.  Living Future draws passionate people, and we are trying to cultivate that energy to drive great change.

What are some of the different messages that the keynote speakers will be bringing, or are there any of them in particular you think people will be excited to hear?

All of the keynote speakers will be exciting.  I mean, they are keynotes for a reason –

Janine Benyus is going to talk about biomimicry and what lessons we can draw from nature in the designs of our buildings and cities, as well as cutting-edge research being done around the world.  I think people will come away from her presentation completely awed and inspired.

 Thomas Crum will have an impact on a more personal level.  His message is more tied in with the theme of the conference (Cultivating leadership. Begin with One).  He helps people reach their full potential through embracing conflict and challenging situations in order to create more positive outcomes.  These two are great bookends: One is about the influence of the outside, natural world and the other is focused inward on the potential we have within ourselves.

Denis Hayes is one of the most insightful people on a national level.  As a pioneer in the green movement, he will bring wisdom, as well as new perspectives.  Plus, I think he is very entertaining.  As for my talk, I will share with people some really interesting findings we are learning from the LivingBuilding projects out there, as well as challenge people to think differently about the scale of change we need to make in the world.  I plan to get everyone worked up!

There's a political party in power now that's more favorable to sustainable policies, but the economy has been in dire straits. How would you characterize the set of political and economic conditions in which green building exists right now?

Everyone is hopeful that the policies of the Obama administration will lead us further and quicker down the path of change.  Environmental issues were part of his platform, and there is stimulus money coming down the pipeline to those in our industry, which bodes well for growth of the green building movement.

At the same time, I think we have all been distracted – some for good reason, with jobs being lost and companies failing.  But we can’t put a hold on environmental issues!  These are issues that are bigger than the current economic crisis.  The current state of the economy is just a symptom of the larger issues we will have to deal with somewhere down the line.  I am concerned that we are allowing our days to drift from the larger threats and becoming complacent with the small victories.

What are some of the lessons you and the organizers of Living Future can take away from running past events like this?

Living Future is still a relatively new event for us, but I think we are getting quite good at it! People seem to love the conference and our feedback has always been stellar.  Evidence of this is in the sell-out crowd this year – we are going to be packed to the gills!  This is a good sign that we are in fact delivering something truly special.

How does putting on Living Future fit within the context of other Cascadia GBC endeavors throughout the year?

Living Future is the glue that holds it all together for us; it is our big annual summit.  Living Future is the focal point of the work we do, and the event we tie our board and branch meetings to.  It is the single most important event for us in bringing a large percentage of our members and sponsors together.  Cascadia is made up of a vast geographic area; we have members in Alaska, British Columbia, Washington and Oregon.  Living Future provides a great opportunity for everyone to check in, re-energize and connect face-to-face.  And it is these connections that really drive us forward.