Things are starting to fall into place for the 2013 Good Jobs, Green Jobs National Conference in Washington, D.C April 16-18 in Washington D.C. We're reviewing workshop descriptions and lining up speakers.

Today, we're pleased to announce the first set of confirmed speakers. They are:

The 2013 Good Jobs, Green Jobs Conference will be taking place April 16-18, 2013 at the Washington Hilton in Washington, D.C. We need your best ideas for workshops and panels, so we’re calling for proposals for the first two days, April 16-17. 

The 2013 Conference will focus on 1) how to grow the clean economy to scale; 2) the role of strategic partnerships between the public and private sectors in solving the country’s pressing economic and environmental challenges; 3) the role of regulations in creating new markets; and 4) how people in every part of the U.S. are working collaboratively for social, economic and environmental justice, while building an economy with good jobs.  

Think of your morning routine. How many products do you use to get ready in the morning? Shampoo and conditioner? Shaving cream? Moisturizer? What did you put in your hair, and did you use makeup? Did you remember the deodorant?

So, what’s your number? According to the Campaign for Safer Cosmetics, it is likely your number is around 12 if you’re a woman and six if you’re a man.

Have you ever thought about what’s in those products? There are more than 10,000 chemical ingredients in personal care products, and of those 10,000, only 11 percent have undergone safety testing.

Think that you’re safe because you only use products that are labeled “natural” or “organic?” Not so fast; it turns out that is not enough, because the truth-in-advertising rules that apply to products like food, do not apply to personal care cosmetics. That means companies can slap an “organic” label on a bottle of anything, no matter what it contains.

Looking over the agenda and registered participants for tomorrow’s Making It Here 2012: Manufacturing Our Energy Future conference in Cleveland, OH, it’s hard not to get excited about what we will be able to do together to grow America’s energy future.  A small sampling of the some of the participating companies includes:

With less than a week to go to the start of Making It Here 2012: Manufacturing Our Energy Future in Cleveland, we are excited to announce a new opportunity for those interested in learning more about America’s advanced energy future.

Now, for only $40 per person or $300 per table of eight, interested people can sign up to attend the engaging kickoff lunch for the conference from 11:30-2:45 on Wednesday, July 11, 2012.

As part of this lunch, participants will listen to industry experts discuss the future of America’s renewable energy sector when Chris Ayers, President of Global Primary Products at Alcoa, moderates a plenary panel including Michael Eckhart, Managing Director of CITI Bank and former President of the American Council on Renewable Energy, and Carl Pope, Convener of the American Manufacturing Dialogue and the former Executive Director and Chairman of the Sierra Club. Additionally, Louis Schorsch, Executive Vice President of ArcelorMittal, will give a plenary address.

As head of Alcoa Global Primary Products, Ayers oversees a unit that operates 23 smelters and nine alumina refineries worldwide, with bauxite assets in Australia, Brazil, Jamaica, Suriname and Guinea. Alcoa’s global aluminum smelting capacity totals 4.8 million metric tons, and its global alumina capacity totals more than 18 million metric tons. You can learn more about Ayers background here.

Registration for the lunch and the conference is still open, so sign up today. Remember, your registration will only be $395 if you use our discount code BGAF.

We know that climate change is no longer a possibility, it’s a reality. Hurricane Sandy and the drought of 2012 showed America what climate change could do to our communities, economy and environment. It's time to get to work addressing climate change, the state of our nation's infrastructure and developing the innovative technologies of the future.

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Online registration for the Good Jobs, Green Jobs Conference is now closed, but you can register onsite at the Washington Hilton Hotel in Washington, D.C. from:

1:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m. on Monday, April 15
7:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday, April 16
7:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. on Wednesday, April 17 

Registration for two days of exciting plenary sessions and insightful workshops is only $225. 

With new, flexible registration options, you're sure to find one to fit your needs and budget. Take a look at our attendance options:*

Full-Conference Attendee: Full access to the two-day Good Jobs, Green Jobs National Conference complete with four plenary sessions, dozens of workshops, the Wednesday evening reception, and ample networking opportunities. Full-Conference registration is $225.

One Day Pass: Access to one day of the Good Jobs, Green Jobs National Conference that includes two plenary sessions, workshops, and networking opportunities. A One Day Pass for either April 16 or April 17 is $125.

Plenary Pass: Access to all four plenary sessions during the two days of the Good Jobs, Green Jobs Conference for only $50. 

Networking Reception Pass: Access to the Wednesday evening Networking Reception for only $50.

An exciting headline recently came out of Ohio, home to the Making It Here 2012: Manufacturing Our Energy Future conference: Ohioans Agree: Advanced energy technology crucial to economic survival. 

The study — which was conducted by Advanced Energy Economy and its Ohio chapter — found four out of five Ohioans believe advanced energy technology is “very important or somewhat important to America’s future” and the same percentage believe “the manufacturing of advanced energy products like batteries for power storage, high-efficiency motors and equipment, and wind turbine components are very important or somewhat important to Ohio’s economy.”

The manufacturers and clean energy advocates who attend Making It Here on July 11-12 can see how these advanced energy technologies are already putting people to work by touring either Lincoln Electric (the site of the largest known urban wind tour in North America) or Transformer Engineering, LLC (a manufacturer of costumed designed electromagnetic components) on Wednesday morning. Visit the Making It Here website for more about the schedule for these tours along with how to register.

Louis Schorsch, Executive Vice President of Arcelor Mittal, will discussing the future of American manufacturing in the keynote address Making It Here: Manufacturing Our Energy Future in Cleveland July 11-12, 2012.

No stranger to the BlueGreen Alliance Foundation, Dr. Schorsch spoke at the first Good Jobs, Green Jobs conference in Pittsburgh in 2008 along with the 2010 Good Jobs, Green Jobs conference (watch a video of his 2010 address below).

At this year’s Good Jobs, Green Jobs East Regional Conference in Philadelphia, BlueGreen Alliance Foundation David Foster spoke about Dr. Schorsch’s 2008 speech.

“Four years ago, one of the speakers at our Good Jobs, Green Jobs conference in Pittsburgh came to us as one of the CEOs from one of the largest steel company in America: ArcelorMittal. Not an industry that most would think of as a green industry, but Lou Schorsch reminded that us we couldn’t produce 25 percent of America’s energy from its wind resources without the 300 tons of steel that go into every wind turbine. That we couldn’t build the high-speed rail, mass transit, or freight rail systems without the steel that we need. That we can’t have the electric vehicles, high-efficiency appliances or the carbon neutral building systems required without the steel that such a massive overhaul would require.”

Learn more about Dr. Schorsch here, and sign up today to attend Making It Here 2012: Manufacturing Our Energy Future in Cleveland, July 11-12. This exciting conference will discuss America’s advanced energy manufacturing future with 15 workshops discussing the economic potentials of America’s wind, solar, natural gas, industrial energy efficiency and advanced transportation sectors.

P.S. Enter discount code BGAF to sign up for this exciting conference for only $395 — a $200 savings. This price does not include the optional dinner cruise, which is an extra $50.

Good Jobs, Green Jobs sponsor Kaiser Permanente made headlines this week by stating climate change will “impact our ability to provide quality health care.”

We have been proud that Kaiser Permanente has chosen to sponsor the Good Jobs, Green Jobs conference for the past three years. During our Western Conference this year, Kathy Gerwig, Kaiser Permanente’s Environmental Stewardship Officer, spoke about Kaiser’s efforts to create the Healthier Hospitals Initiative among health care industries.

“At Kaiser Permanente, we are working with other large healthcare systems to create the Healthier Hospitals Initiative in order to say we need safety for workers, safety for patients and environmental sustainability… If we all agree to only buy products that are free of harmful chemicals, and it accounts many billions of dollars, that not only changes what’s available in the healthcare industry, it expands to other industries. That’s part of what needs to happen: coalition building.”

The BlueGreen Alliance Foundation is proud to partner with WIRED-Net and GLWN for Making It Here: Manufacturing Our Energy Future  in Cleveland July 11-12, 2012. This conference will bring together America's manufactuers, supply chain managers, renewable energy advocates and others for an exciting two-day conference discussing America's clean energy future.

Tracks Include:

Wind * Solar * Natural Gas * Energy Efficiency * Advanced Transportation

Keynote Speakers:

Louis Schorsch, Executive Vice President, ArcelorMittal
Chris Ayers, President, Global Primary Products, Alcoa

Make sure to use discount code BGAF when registering for this two-day conference to get our special, discounted rate of $375 (this price excludes the optional dinner cruise).