On June 21 and 22, GreenBiz.com hosted a virtual conference introducing VERGE, “a historic, global virtual event looking at the next great wave of innovation: the convergence of energy, information, building and vehicle technologies.” I wrote a brief piece last August about the need to look at “a more complete picture” that includes buildings, energy production and transportation as one challenge or opportunity instead of trying to tackle each specific area in a vacuum. Thankfully, the depth and breadth of the VERGE conference far exceeded my measly blog post and Joel Makower says that VERGE changes everything. I think he could be right.

In an article prior to the event Joel points out how each of the aforementioned focus areas of VERGE has been evolving quickly:

- Energy technology is becoming decentralized, cleaner, better managed, and easier to store.

- Information technology is making every device, building, and vehicle smarter, able to connect into a vast Internet of things that can be addressed, monitored, controlled and optimized.

- Buildings are becoming more intelligent and efficient, better able to optimize energy and resource use and enhance human comfort and productivity, with the potential of becoming net-positive, from the standpoint of their environmental footprint.

- Vehicles are getting smarter, too, able to communicate with their drivers, other vehicles, and their surroundings, becoming safer and more efficient while connecting passengers and fleet managers to a broader transportation and energy grid.

It is clear that a convergence is already occurring. Now, stewardship is necessary to push the limits of this particular convergence and unlock the potential of experts and information typically siloed in a specific corporation or industry.

While this convergence will take some time and be hard to recognize for most, this is still a very exciting time for those of us in these currently separate industries. This type of thinking should present new opportunities that build on the success of the last decade in greening buildings, both new and existing, and help us seek deeper shades of green including not only net zero, but also moving towards restorative and regenerative strategies. How do you think VERGE will impact your business?