For information on becoming a GreenTown sponsor, click here.

To view presentations from the 2008 conference, click here.

GreenTown: The Future of Community is a one-day conference designed to help create eco-effective communities. Mayors and elected officials, public works directors, park district directors, planners, developers, architects, landscape architects, builders, and others interested in seeing how a community can become greener, will gather Thursday, October 2 in Aurora, Illinois to hear from inspiring speakers, learn from been-there case studies and get actionable information to make communities more eco-effective.

Whether you are from an established community or a fast-growing community, you will learn about comprehensible sustainable city initiatives, public-private partnerships, innovative redevelopment projects, LEED-certified buildings and how to create cutting edge programs to promote sustainable urbanism, green roofs, municipal composting, renewable energy, green schools and more.

Thursday, October 2, 2008
8 am to 5:30 pm

Paramount Theatre
23 East Galena Boulevard
Aurora, Illinois 60506

The inaugural conference was held September 19, 2007, at Frank Lloyd Wright's Unity Temple in Oak Park, Illinois. Over 300 people gathered to hear from innovative speakers, including William McDonough, architect and author of Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things.

GreenTown: The Future of Community is produced by a5, inc. and Seven Generations Ahead.

a5 is a Chicago-based marketing and communications firm with significant experience in event marketing. Working with clients to determine how good business and environmental practices can coincide, a5 consults with Technical Concepts and Steelcase on environmental efforts and has produced sustainability conferences such as Green by Design and the West Michigan Sustainable Business Forum. In addition to producing great work for clients, a5 aims to do great work for the environment by adopting sustainable business practices.
www.a5inc.com

Founded in 2001, Seven Generations Ahead has risen to the forefront of environmental organizations advocating for the development of ecologically sustainable and healthy communities. SGA educates and advocates for policies, strategies, and planning that promote ecologically effective community design, and over the past four years has developed specific programming that addresses issues around sustainable agriculture and the promotion of healthy food. SGA collaborates with area business, government, and community organizations, and assists its clients on every level from advising city planners on eco-effective policies to providing locally grown organic lunches for elementary and high school students.
www.sevengenerationsahead.org

Greening the Conference

GreenTown will also be a sustainable and zero waste event. This means thought was put into everything that would be needed to host this event and efforts were made to reduce the environmental impact and any waste from entering the landfill. To this end, locally grown and organic foods will be incorporated into the menu offerings, tableware and flatware will be compostable, beverages are fair trade and organic and will be served in compostable cups, printed materials were kept to a minimum and sourced from post-consumer recycled and FSC certified paper. Attendees, hosts, speakers and volunteers are encouraged to utilize public transportation, walk, bike or carpool.