You’ve probably just about heard it all from the Republican convention hall last week. The 2016 Republican National Convention in Cleveland, Ohio, was—unsurprisingly—a media frenzy. From speeches by"Charles in Charge" star Scott Baio and Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin to tech billionaire Peter Thiel, the week was filled with media moments, as well as the longest Republican presidential nominee speech since C-SPAN began keeping time records in 1972.

Outside the building, there were thousands of us nondelegates who were connecting with businesses, lawmakers, the media and the public on today’s most important economic and policy issues. In fact, many of us spent time talking about green buildings, the clean energy economy and how American business can thrive in the context of a changing climate.

“It’s wonderful to see the Green Building Council here,” was probably the welcoming phrase that I heard most often. What followed was invariably a conversation about the great news about our bustling green building and green business economy and imagining new pathways for partnership to move the market forward at the national, regional, state and local levels. Virtually everyone I met shared my enthusiasm for our growing green building industry that is expected to contribute 1.1 million U.S. jobs by 2018.

Here’s a quick recap of some of the green building activities from the week:

The city of Cleveland was an excellent host, boasting new public parks downtown with a green footprint, more than 100 LEED Certified projects (and growing) and various outstanding programs run by the Mayor’s Office of Sustainability, including a brand-new city bicycle sharing program.
The Atlantic hosted an energy policy discussion with North Dakota Congressman Kevin Cramer and Ohio Congressman Bill Johnson where, at the 17-minute mark, I helped steer the conversation toward efficiency. In summary, I heard that “energy efficiency should be its own reward” and also that “we need market-based solutions to energy and environment issues.” I also heard, “It’s the solutions to climate change that are frightening to me.”
The Hill hosted a discussion on real estate and the U.S. economy with Ohio Congressman Mike Turner. The event also included a panel coordinated by the Real Estate Roundtable with Ohio Congressman Jim Renacci and New York Congressman Tom Reed. Highlights include: “Real estate generates about 20 percent of the nation’s GDP, or $3.3 trillion,” “Real estate is the source of 70 percent of local tax revenue,” and "Bank lending has become incredibly difficult” for multifamily developers, requiring upwards of 35–45 percent equity investment, suggesting a need for tax reform to reward risk in real estate development that creates construction jobs.
The National League of Cities and Build America Mutual hosted a discussion titled "Infrastructure Leadership from American Communities." There, former U.S. Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood joined infrastructure experts and a panel of mayors and county officials from Colorado, Missouri, Oklahoma and Texas to talk about the national need for infrastructure investment in partnership with local governments. LaHood commented, “When [cities] invest in infrastructure, boom! Companies want to go there.” The Cincinnati Business Courier also published an article covering the event.
The American Sustainable Business Council (ASBC) hosted a series of panel discussions titled “Conservative Thought and Sustainability.” The first panel included Joe Paterniti, USGBC Northeast Ohio Chair and Vice President, Enterprise Manager of Energy Efficiency and Renewables at Key Bank, as well as other representatives of businesses excelling in sustainability, who praised green building and LEED as essential drivers of business investment in sustainability. ASBC recently released a related report, How Green Building Helps the U.S. Economy.
Politico hosted a panel called “Energy and the Election at the RNC.” There, North Dakota Congressman Kevin Cramer joined the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and representatives from Mercury and Clearpath Foundation. I heard panelists say, “Republicans and Democrats are united on one thing: we want clean air and clean water,” and, in addition to wind and solar, “We believe we have a really big toolbox that is going to continue to get fuller,” and “If we’re really talking about an all-of-the-above [energy] policy, I don’t know what it is…but voters want to know!”

Regardless of who will become our next president, there is still a whole lot of green building to be done, so we will do it!

Green building at the RNC: A report from Cleveland