On March 19, 2008, the INdiana Sustainability Alliance (INSA) hosted its first event in downtown Indianapolis. For those that do not know, INSA’s mission is to promote the economic growth of the sustainable development, green building, renewable energy, water management, and clean technology industries in Indiana.  The event drew over 100 attendees that represented several Indiana businesses, policy makers, colleges and universities, and other environmental organizations.   

The event started off with INSA's special guest the former Mayor of Honolulu, Jeremy Harris.  Mayor Harris discussed the sustainable issues facing the business world, communities and local governments and shared several of his lessons learned from his ten years of service as the Mayor of the City and County of Honolulu, Hawaii. During his three terms as Mayor, Honolulu was recognized as one of the best managed cities in the United States and achieved worldwide recognition for its sustainable practices.  

After Mayor Harris finished, Dr. Michael Walsh, an Executive Vice President of Chicago Climate Exchange, Inc., took the stage and described the Chicago Climate Exchange (CCX), the reasons behind its success and the likelihood of a national carbon cap being adopted in the U.S.  CCX is the world’s first and North America’s only voluntary, legally binding greenhouse gas reduction and trading program for all six greenhouse gases with offset projects worldwide.  Dr. Walsh spoke at the event about the reasons U.S. companies are voluntarily becoming involved in the CCX and answered questions from the crowd about the opportunities available to Indiana companies through CCX. 

With the number of attendees and committed partners, such as the Indiana Chapter of the United States Green Building Council, the Indiana Department of Energy and Defense Development, Clean Wave Ventures, LLC, Knoefler Enterprises, the Ball State College of Architecture Planning Indianapolis Center, the Richard G. Lugar Center for Renewable Energy and Ice Miller LLP, INSA seems to be achieving its primary goal of bringing together policy makers, environmental groups, universities, and Indiana businesses to promote the growth of sustainable industries in Indiana. For more information about INSA and how to get involved, please contact Alex Forman and Paul Jones.