WASHINGTON – AISI’s Steel Market Development Institute (SMDI) and the American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC) will represent steel as the “green” construction choice at the U.S. Green Building Council’s (USGBC) Greenbuild International Conference and Expo on November 11-13, 2009 in Phoenix, Arizona. As Gold Sponsors, SMDI and AISC will preside over the ribbon-cutting ceremony to open the Exhibit Hall on Tuesday, November 10 at 5:15 p.m. and the opening reception. David C. Jeanes, president of AISI’s Steel Market Development Institute, will deliver the opening remarks at the ribbon-cutting ceremony.

SMDI and AISC will also hold a press conference on Thursday, November 12, 2009 from 4pm to 5pm in Room 126-B. The Greenbuild conference is expected to draw more than 28,000 green building industry professionals together to learn about the latest advancements in green building design, construction, project financing and building management.

SMDI, AISC and the Steel Recycling Institute (SRI) will share a 10’ X 20’ booth that highlights steel’s energy and resource savings, as well as its recycling benefits. Information on LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) points that can be earned through building with steel will be available at the booth. In 2007, the recycling rate for beams and plates in construction was 97.5 percent.

“The North American steel industry is committed to providing ‘green’ design solutions for engineers and architects. We have several materials available for LEED practitioners on how they can obtain pre-consumer and post-consumer recycled content percentages for steel construction products. These materials will be available at the SMDI/AISC/SRI booth at the conference, but are also available for downloading at www.steel.org,” said Greg Crawford, vice president of operations at the Steel Recycling Institute and executive director of the Cool Metal Roofing Coalition.

For more information, visit AISI’s Web site at www.steel.org or AISC’s Web site at www.aisc.org/greenbuild for information on designing for sustainability with steel.

About AISI’s Steel Market Development Institute
AISI’s Steel Market Development Institute oversees the industry’s investment in advancing the competitive use of steel by meeting the demands of the marketplace. Investor companies of the Construction Market Council of the SMDI include:

ArcelorMittal USA
• ArcelorMittal Dofasco
• Nucor Corporation
• Severstal North America, Inc.
• SSAB North America
• Steelscape, Inc.
• United States Steel Corporation
• USS-POSCO Industries

AISI serves as the voice of the North American steel industry in the public policy arena and advances the case for steel in the marketplace as the preferred material of choice. AISI also plays a lead role in the development and application of new steels and steelmaking technology. AISI is comprised of 24 member companies, including integrated and electric furnace steelmakers, and 138 associate and affiliate members who are suppliers to or customers of the steel industry. AISI's member companies represent approximately 75 percent of both U.S. and North American steel capacity. For more news about steel and its applications, view AISI’s Web site at www.steel.org.

Source: American Iron and Steel Institute, October 28, 2009