The program is designed to provoke interesting discussions on how the public and private sectors can initiate large-scale energy-efficiency programs.

The 19th Annual Energy Efficiency Forum, sponsored by the U.S. Energy Association and Johnson Controls Inc., is scheduled for June 10-11, 2008, in Washington, DC. The program theme, "What’s Happening Now and What’s Next," is designed to provoke interesting discussions on how the public and private sectors can initiate large-scale energy-efficiency programs that will have immediate economic and environmental impacts.

Activities begin Tuesday, June 10, at 11:30 a.m. Johnson Controls will host a luncheon and World Café session at the JW Marriott Hotel, kicked-off with a keynote from Charlie Cook, a nationally known non-partisan political commentator and publisher of The Cook Political Report.

The World Café Session that follows features an innovative, collaborative approach to help explore challenges, define solutions and move your organization along the path to sustainability. To better match the interests and experiences of participants, the session will be divided into two tracks: operational/technical and executive/non-technical.

Following this event will be a Congressional Reception scheduled for 5 p.m. at the Rayburn House Office Building. The Energy Efficiency Forum begins at 7:30 a.m. on Wednesday at the National Press Club.

Confirmed speakers include:

• Thomas Friedman, New York Times columnist and Pulitzer Prize winning author
• Robert Watson, founder of the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED Green Building Rating System
• David B. Goldstein, co-director of the Natural Resources Defense Council’s Energy Program
• Steven Specker, president, Electric Power Research Institute.

For program updates, visit www.eeforum.net.