The fifth Bluegrass GreenExpo, held recently at the Lexington Convention Center, "was the breakout year we have been hoping for since the event began in 2004, " said Ben Perry, President of Bluegrass Greenworks.
Perry added, "While there is much more to the GreenExpo than attendance [figures], it is certainly an indication of the awareness and interest in green issues, products and lifestyles."
Grants account for about 25 percent of the cost of putting on the GreenExpo. It generates enough income from exhibitors and sponsors to pay the other 75 percent of its expenses.
The almost 2,400 people who attended the free GreenExpo found over 70 exhibits to see, plus a number of workshops to attend. Local businesses hoping to attract new customers to their green products and services saw a steady stream of visitors. Some people picked up advertising brochures and walked on, but others stayed to ask the business owners about their products and services.
Among the central Kentucky businesses exhibiting at the GreenExpo were Kentucky Solar Partnership, Good Foods Co-op, Blue Grass Energy, KyFoam Insulation, Voltaic Solar, Eco-$mart, and Solar Energy Solutions. Morris Book Shop in Southland and Natural Awakening Bluegrass, a new environmental magazine, offered visitors the chance to read more about environmental issues.
Floors and windows aren't cheap, but choosing them wisely can save a homeowner in the long run. At GreenExpo Floor Coverings International, located in Nicholasville, showed samples of marmoleum, an environmentally-friendly alternative to linoleum and vinyl floors. Gilkey Windows and Stratton Lumber in Nicholasville with its Advantage Window Center in Lexington (Anderson Windows) drew lots of interested visitors to their booths.
"A lot of people don't think of Lexington as having a lot of green businesses. Most people would be very surprised at how much is going on here, at how much the city is doing. But when you see it all in one place, [it's clear that green business is growing]," Perry explained, adding, "Lexington is pretty cutting-edge."
One of the most visible business sectors involved in green services and products is the home construction, remodeling, and services industry. The Lexington Home Builders Association has been at the forefront of the green movement for several years. Its annual tour of new homes this year featured a home constructed to standards of the U.S. Green Building Council.
Some of that local interest in building with green materials and using environmentally-friendly techniques (recycling construction waste, keeping the construction site from sending debris into the city's stormwater system, etc.) carries over from the rest of the state. Kentucky was one of the first four states to start its own green building chapter of the national organization.
The Green Expo featured exhibits by such local building and remodeling firms as WreckCreations, Energy Smart Homes (in Harrodsburg), and A Green Building Group (in Richmond) plus the Lexington Home Builders Association. Millard Blakey, owner of WreckCreations also presented a talk on green remodeling techniques.
In contrast to the enthusiastic support of area firms in the building services and supply industry, local car dealers and bicycle shops were conspicuously absent. Given the growing national interest in alternative transportation and reducing the use of gasoline with its price spikes, they likely missed some new customers.
Perry was surprised by their lack of participation because at the 2007 GreenExpo "29 percent of attendees indicated that they plan[ned] to buy a more fuel efficient vehicle within the next six months and 28 percent planned to bicycle more in that same time frame."
Summing up the GreenExpo, Perry said, "I rather like the idea that this is homegrown and home-supported."
The Bluegrass GreenExpo is part of Bluegrass Greenworks. Other sections of this umbrella organization include the Bluegrass Green Guide, Bluegrass GreenBiz, and Bluegrass GreenGroups.