ALEXANDRIA, Va. (October 8, 2008) – The Construction Specifications Institute (CSI) today announced that the second meeting of the Building Product Manufacturers Alliance (BPMA) will take place December 8-10, 2008, at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) in Berkeley, Calif.

The meeting's theme is "Energy Efficiency, Sustainability and Innovation." Plans call for the three-day gathering to include technical sessions, a tour of LBNL, roundtable discussions and networking opportunities.

"We are excited to hold the second BPMA meeting at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory," says CSI Executive Director and CEO Walter Marlowe. "It is a fitting venue for this meeting given the laboratory's notable research activities on energy-efficient commercial buildings and building products."

The meeting's sessions will address topics such as:

• Business and technology pathways to net zero energy buildings
• Buildings and the smart electric grid
• Benchmarking building performance
• The next wave of building performance simulation
• Indoor environmental quality
• Integrating building facades and daylighting strategies

BPMA's inaugural meeting took place in March, bringing together leading manufacturers to share knowledge that will reshape and enhance the future of the building industry. The second meeting continues BPMA's efforts to improve building products and services by providing a forum to discuss common issues and challenges and to share best practices.

As the national association of specifiers, architects, engineers, contractors and suppliers, CSI is in a unique position to bring together manufacturers and to connect them to other key sectors of the building industry through BPMA. The alliance offers a wide range of benefits to participants, from identifying critical trends in building construction, design and business to commissioning research to better understand, define and communicate issues and opportunities important to building product manufacturers and the building industry.