Interested in expanding your knowledge on what role corporate action plays in our transition to a low carbon built environment? How about the imminent Nearly Zero Energy Building (NZEB) standard? Well good news the The Green Room is back and these will be the two main themes of this year’s conference.
So what is the Green Room 2018? It is an Irish Green Building Council (IGBC) Conference providing details on the latest trends nationally and internationally on sustainable non-residential buildings. This half day conference will also include briefings on NZEB for the commercial sector. The conference will be split up into two sessions each covering one of our conference’s main themes. This series of blogs will provide details on each session, starting with Corporate Responsibility, Climate Change and the Built Environment.
So tell me more about session 1 – Corporate 
Responsibility, Climate Change and the Built Environment? After the success of the Green Room 2017, we wanted to bring you updates on this year’s programme. The first half of the conference will include a panel discussion and questions, with our line-up of speakers. These include Louise Ellison the Group Head of Sustainability at Hammerson plc, Charles Van Thiel a Real Estate Associate at GRESB and a speaker from the European Investment Bank. Our speakers will be discussing Corporate Responsibility, Climate Change and why investors put increasing focus on green buildings.
So how are investors / CSR driving the demand for more sustainable buildings? During the first half of the conference we will address this question with our panel. To give a bit of background, this blog will briefly discuss the Business Case for going green with our buildings. This topic is examined in detail within the World Green Building Council report ‘The Business Case for Green Building’. The report looks at all aspects of the costs and benefits of Green Buildings for Developers, Investors and Occupants.
For buildings, no one-size-fits-all solution exists in design and construction. It is widely thought that building green is naturally going to incur greater costs, but this is not always the case as shown in the report. In addition, investments can be recouped through operational cost savings.
There are substantial social and economic impacts of choosing green. For example, Nearly Zero Energy Buildings (NZEB’s) can create a more productive workplace for occupants, more details on this connection can be seen here. In addition, Green Buildings can help with mitigation of climate change and assist in providing security and conservation for water and energy resources. Green Buildings also see benefits for corporate reputation and the building itself has lower volatility in market value.
Research clearly shows that the business case for Green Buildings is compelling. In addition, research by LaSalle Investment Management reported that, environmental features strongly contributed to the financial performance of real estate portfolios. As a result, investors should look to green building to their maximize returns. Thus, as occupant and investor awareness of Green Building grows, so will the future demand for these sustainable buildings.
Tell me more about the panel of speakers?
Louise Ellison is the Group Head of Sustainability at Hammerson plc. Hammerson PLC’s sustainability vision is to create retail destinations that deliver net positive impacts economically, socially and environmentally. Louise Ellison will share her experiences and look at how Hammerson PLC are planning on achieving their sustainable targets.
Charles Van Thiel is a Real Estate Associate at GRESB. GRESB’s mission is to enhance and protect shareholder value by assessing and empowering sustainability practices in the real asset sector. Charles Van Thiel will discuss why and how do organisations embed sustainability in core business processes.
The last member of our panel is a speaker from the European Investment Bank. The European Investment Bank provide finance and expertise for sustainable investment projects that contribute to EU policy objectives. Sustainability and societal responsibility lies at the heart of everything the EIB Group does and shapes its activities and investment decisions. The EIB have financed thousands of operations around the world. Our speaker will discuss the future for investing in NZEB and the EIB’s new “smart finance for smart buildings” initiative.
See our event page for more details on our panel members and their organisations.
Interested in learning more about the Conference?
If you are interested in learning more about The Green Room 2018 and other events, visit us here. Get your early bird tickets while they are still available!
Early Bird tickets available until Friday April 13th 2018.
Leadership for a Sustainable Built Environment
The Irish Green Building Council – IGBC, a non-profit organisation was launched in 2011 with organisations and businesses from the entire value chain of the built environment. The IGBC aim to transform the Irish industry to sustainable practices through policy creation, education, events and provision of tools to measure and accelerate progress.
