World Green Building Council International Congress – Updates
December 4, 2009 at 4:19 pm | In General | Leave a CommentI had the opportunity to participate this year at the International Congress organised by World GBC on the 9th and 10th of November, just before Green Build.
The atmosphere was great and I am very happy that I was able to establish more connections with GBC’s all over the world. From talking to people coming from different cultures and different continents – one might realise that we are so alike in our efforts. From Philipines to Mexico and Spain to Vietnam we are all facing more or less the same issues – how to increase the visibility of green buildings on our markets, how to get more members, how to collaborate with the public authorities etc. Therefore the topic of collaboration was one of the most present in our talks.
The atmosphere was great, with a lot of enthusiastic people, supporters of green building concept at the global level. There were 34 Green Building Councils represented there out of almost 60 GBC’s in different stages of development/maturity that are now formed all over the world. Tony Arnel, the Chairman of World GBC opened the conference saying that ” Each of our efforts are focused a lot on transforming the national markets, but together we are changing the world” – quite appealing movement to be in.
There were a lot of discussions on enhancing collaborations between GBC’s. World GBC created a platform with information regarding all existing GBC’s around the world – every GBC can post there not only information about their organisation, but also events , innitiatives etc. I was very impressed when GBC representatives from Mexico or Canada were congratulating us and expressed interest in attending the second edition of Sustainable Architecture in Transylvania summer school. The platform is also very useful for GBC’s to share knowledge, learn from each other and better develop colaboration innitiatives. The platform is still “in development” in terms of content – but the general public can learn even now about the latest innitiatives of the GBC’s all over the world. If you are curious to found out more don’t hesitate to go to the Green Building Councils section on World GBC and click the Councils News.
Another World GBC plan to enhance collaboration between different GBC’s is to form regional networks. Right now the Asia&Pacific network is already formed and the next in plan is Europe , where RoGBC is planning to get involved as much possible. The purpose of regional networks is to encourage GBC’s to share knowledge, join forces in promoting the green building concept in their markets and also solve common problems. One of the main objectives of the European GBC network will be to lobby for green building legislation at the EU level.
There were a lot of talks on the importance that buildings should have in the new international agreement that is expected to be signed in Copenhagen in December 2009. UNEP together with USGBC, Australia GBC, UK GBC, Canada GBC and SB Alliance closed a memorandum on “Common Carbon Metric Methodology” that will be used in all the main existing rating tools. If you are interested in the topic here is a document that summarizes the discussions and describes the protocol.
Discussions on Neighbourhood Rating Tools
Another important topic that was approached was the Neighbourhood Rating Tools. Practically all the major rating systems are enlarging their scope with adding special methodologies for calculating / evaluating the sustainability indicators in whole communities, not only singular buildings. LEED is finalising LEED for Neighbourhoods and BREEAM has recently launched BREEAM Communities. CASBEE is also extending with CASBEE for Urban Development.
Meeting the representatives of the other GBC’s is always a pleasant experience, full of energy and optimism. It gives you the feeling that you belong to a big family set to change the world for better.
Next important mission of the World GBC together with the other GBC’s around the world will be to represent the cause of Green Buildings in Copenhagen this month.
Anca
RoGBC discussing about green jobs at “Ora Verde”
November 3, 2009 at 5:36 pm | In General, Legislative Outreach | Leave a Comment
Anca Bieru, our Director for Memberships and Public Affairs talked about the possibility to create new jobs by directing the economy towards greener approaches to business.
Taking “Ora Verde” (“Green Hour”) TV show as a message platform, Anca Bieru and Luminita Tanasie (WWF) discussed about the opportunities that derive from a green economy. This was part of a common effort of both the RoGBC and the WWF to raise awareness of the fact that the practical measures that can be taken for a green economy represent an investment for a sustainable economic future, and not budgetary costs.
Lobbying for adoption of a strong EPBD
October 5, 2009 at 1:23 pm | In General, Legislative Outreach | Leave a CommentTags: Energy Audit, Energy Efficiency, EPBD, Legislation, Lobby
The key points that were made in both meetings I had in Brussels for presenting our position paper on a stronger EPBD are:
1. Lobbying at national levels in other EU countries - to representatives from national Ministries is not inefficient – there are still negotiation on the position of the Council of Ministers. The Council of Ministers is the most rigid institution in the trialogue and challenged important provisions from the current version of the Directive – such as common methodology for calculation, verification of inspection report and of the energy performance certificate (these only from the discussions that were made so far – on half of the amendments)
2. European Parliament is not in a hurry. Ms. Ticau said she won’t make a compromise on a weak Directive and if agreement is not obtained by December they will start the normal co-decision procedure that might take some time. The European Parliament (EP) wants to have an agreement soon, but not in the detriment of the content. Strong points that EP doesn’t want to make a compromise on – common methodology for calculation, setting energy efficiency requirements for building components , fiscal and financial measures to support the implementation of the Directive, net zero energy buildings.
3. Another important point – if the three institution fail to reach an agreement by December – the process might take much longer afterwords (Ms. Ticau was saying that some Directives are discussed in the Council for years).
The opportunity we have now is that the three institutions that are now negotiating – European Parliament, Council of Ministers, European Commission feel some pressure from achieving an agreement before Copenhagen – to demonstrate leadership in the negotiation there.
RoGBC decided to ask the other Green Building Councils in Europe (18 organizations) to start lobbying heavily at their national level for their governments to support an agreement at the EU level on a strong EPBD. This would help creating the needed market conditions all over EU for developing energy efficient buildings and rehabilitating the existing ones.
Anca
Photos from “Expopastoralis” event in Rucar
September 17, 2009 at 1:38 pm | In General | Leave a CommentPhotos are available here.
RoGBC Library
August 20, 2009 at 3:09 pm | In General, Training | Leave a CommentTags: books, green books, library, shelfari, sustainable architecture
We are pleased to announce that as of today the RoGBC library is open to our members as a pilot test project. The library includes books on topics ranging from green building basics, sustainable architecture to green marketing and knowledge management.
All the books available at this moment are included in our online catalogue available here. Feel free to browse the books on our shelf. By hovering with your mouse over a book you will be able to see if it’s available or on loan (under RoGBC’s tags) and by clicking on a book on the shelf you will have access to a short description of its content. Also, a collection of architectural magazines (Arhitectura, Arhitext Design, Igloo, Green Source) is available at the RoGBC office. Feel free to drop by and peruse your favorite magazine.
We will continually enrich our book collection by acquiring new materials so we encourage you to check back often. We invite you to send us suggestions for new titles to be added to the library collections at books@RoGBC.org.
The rules and procedure for borrowing from the library can be found on our website.
We are looking forward to sharing our books with you.
Sustainable Construction in Transylvania!
August 17, 2009 at 7:29 pm | In Events, General | Leave a CommentTags: buildings, GBC, Green Building, Green Building Council, green buildings, meeting, sustainability, sustainable_development, Training
Building green means building for the future, but at the same time building green has a lot to do with the past. Tradition and sustainability are, in a way, similar : both of them have to defeat time. Therefore analyzing tradition can reveal very interesting facts about the way people in the old times perceived sustainability and even applied it, although the term did not yet exist. The RoGBC used this idea and transformed it into an exciting event in Transylvania, the mountainous heart of Romania.
In the medieval environment of the “Land of the Seven Citadels” – as Transylvania is historically known – the participants took notice of the roots of sustainability in Romanian architecture and also got acquainted with the traditional Romanian food, music and folk dances.
Architect Horatiu Racasan held a presentation on sustainable construction practices and also showed some of his projects.
Eva Schmincke, a director of the German Sustainable Building Council (DGNB) and product specification expert, discussed the future of sustainable construction materials product declarations (EPD) and their role in sustainable construction in Europe.
Gabriel Rosca, President of the Sibiu chapter of the Romanian Order of Architects discussed the results of a summer school where attendees developed and presented urban planning and green solutions for the city’s challenges.
Nicholas Dimancescu showed a short film and explained the history and development of the Inn at Balaban – our venue for the weekend in Transylvania.
Sabin Maghiar of Monsena demonstrated some of the work their company is doing for historical renovations in Romania.
Architect Silvia Demeter of Context Architecture and Romania’s representative to the European Council of Architects provided an excellent tour of Brasov city despite some interruptions from uncooperative weather. The sun got friendlier as we visited the Rasnov fortress.
As they first arrived in Bucharest, the participants took a walking tour through the capital city and hear about the stories behind its most important buildings. Luiza Hanc and Octavian Partenie, two of the associate members of the RoGBC, as well as RoGBC Communication Specialist, Alina Kartman, were in charge with providing the information for the tour.
Although time was short, plenty of other activities were fit into the schedule: an excellent outdoor dinner at the Hilton’s La Strada, and two unforgettable train rides 
Check the RoGBC Flikr account for more photos from the event.
The RoGBC salutes the applications opening for the Prime Property Award
August 4, 2009 at 5:02 pm | In Events, General | Leave a CommentTags: buildings, DGNB, Energy Efficiency, Energy Efficiency in Buildings, GBC, german building council, Green Building, Green Building Council, green buildings, sustainability, Sustainable Development, sustainable_development
The German Green Building Council (DGNB) announced the opening of the application period for the 2010 edition of the Prime Property Award. The competition is organized every two years by Union Invest, a company specialized in property management and also a member of the DGNB. The prize is awarded to property investors in Europe who excel at integrating sustainability aspects into the development and redevelopment of commercial and private buildings.
The current theme for the 2010 Award is “Creating sustainable investment and places” and the projects registered must have been completed between 2004 and 2009. The winners will be selected in a multistage process by an international jury of experts comprising investors, architects, town planners and project developers. For the evaluation a detailed list of criteria has been developed which enables the jury to measure and compare sustainable interaction between real estate, the environment and society. The awards ceremony will take place in Munich at EXPO REAL, Europe’s largest commercial property show, in October 2010. The deadline for entries for the first phase of the competition is 15 December 2009 and total prize money for the Prime Property Award is 30,000 Euros.
For more information please visit: www.prime-property-award.com
Protected: UNDP Workshop: The economy behind environmental challenges: Solutions for diversifying the financing sources for protected areas in the Carpathians
July 31, 2009 at 6:06 pm | In General | Enter your password to view commentsTags: biodiversity, conservation, eco-tourism, funding, UNDP
Photo Update
July 3, 2009 at 9:38 am | In General | Leave a Comment
Steven Borncamp - CVUT Lecture
Some pictures from Steve Borncamp’s presentation in May at the Czech National Technical University regarding the activities of the Romania Green Building Council and green building activity in the region.
Steven Borncamp - Czech National Technical Library
Choose a language
-
License
The content of this blog is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 Unported License.
Blog at WordPress.com. | Theme: Pool by Borja Fernandez.
Entries and comments feeds.
