World Green Building Council’s Leaders Summit
Green buildings need to be a part of the climate change solution.
The World Green Building Council (WorldGBC) wants to ensure that green buildings are at the forefront of decision makers' minds when the world gets to together in Copenhagen to commit to new carbon emission reduction targets.
The Leaders Summit will be the first time the WorldGBC brings together world industry leaders and policy makers to hear from experts about the enormous potential green buildings offer nations as they work to reduce their carbon emissions. Hosting the Summit in Toronto, in conjunction with 2009 IIDEX/NeoCon Conference and the Green Building Festival, the WorldGBC Secretariat wants to shine the spotlight on Canadian initiatives and showcase the opportunities for governments to be the leading advocate for green buildings on the international stage.
The Summit will be followed by a cocktail reception with the opportunity to network with national and international attendees and invited dignitaries.
Participants will gain
1. New appreciation of the enormous potential of green buildings to be part of the climate solution;
2. Knowledge from around the world that demonstrates how green buildings can be used as a means to help reduce carbon emissions;
3. Understanding of the current strategies and efforts on-going in response to climate change;
4. Important networking opportunities.
Speakers:
Karan Grover has been passionately advocating the need to look at ones culture and heritage for clues as to the direction for a contemporary architecture and sustainable development relevant to the Indian context today. He has enthused children in conservation and been nominated a "social entrepreneur" as a Fellow of the Ashoka Foundation, Washington. He almost single handedly won India's nominations for UNESCO's World Heritage Site status for Champaner after a 22-year old campaign. In 2004, Grover became the first architect in the world to win the USGBC "Platinum" Award for the greenest building in the world. He also went on to win his second Platinum Award for the interior of ABN AMRO Bank at Ahmedabad. Four more "Platinum" buildings are in the pipeline. He was recently made the Permanent Honorary Fellow of the National Academy of Environment at the hands of former President Dr. Abdul Kalam in Delhi.
Today he is working towards the need for practicing "Green Architecture" inspiring students and fellow architects - a need based on ecological and environmental concerns; a need which involves us all as inhabitants of this planet. He spoke at the Clinton Global Initiative, New York at the personal invite of President Clinton last year. In the two day meeting Karan interacted with world leaders, Tony Blair; President of Afghanistan, Philippines, Nobel Prize winners - Mohammed Yunus, Toni Morrison and Waringal Mathai of Kenya, Ted Turner and Al Gore amongst others.
Today he is a master speaker on many international events on Sustainability and the Architecture of Green and have just signed a contract for the designing of a Zero Energy Building for one of his prestigious clients, which will be going to be the first Net Zero Building in India and amongst very few in the world.
Frank Biden is the President and founder of Cygnus International LLC, a real estate development and consulting firm. Mr. Biden worked in the Clinton Administration as a director of Legislative and Congressional Affairs, and has been involved in the election campaigns of his brother, Joe Biden and nephew, Joseph R. Biden III, as an advisor and unpaid campaign coordinator over many years. For the past several years, Mr. Biden has worked as the director of a major philanthropy in Central America providing pediatric aids relief, building homes and providing scholarships for the poorest of the poor. Mr. Biden's interests and involvement in the Green Movement and green building initiatives come in part through policy involvement and most recently his partnership in building the largest and first Platinum LEED certified development in Costa Rica, Latin America.
Andrew Bowerbank, Executive Director, WorldGBC. For the past few years Mr. Bowerbank has had the fortunate opportunity to work as the member representative for the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP). With a specific goal to deliver a framework for major carbon reductions globally, the UNEP focus has been about buildings and infrastructure forming a key part of a new global climate deal to succeed the Kyoto Protocol. Combined with his efforts to establish green building networks across Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin & South Americas, these experiences have opened his eyes to new opportunities for low-carbon economic thinking. With the triple threat of today's financial, environmental and social issues at hand, Mr. Bowerbank believes Canada can be well positioned as a leader for a new global direction; A direction that some economists are classifying as the "Third Industrial Revolution". At the Toronto Leaders Summit, Mr. Bowerbank will demonstrate global initiatives leading up to the UNFCCC conference in Copenhagen, share his experiences, and review strategic ideas that can help leaders in Canada achieve success.
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
TIME: Summit - 3:30 - 5:45 PM, Cocktail Reception: 6:00 - 8:00 PM
PLACE: Heritage Court, Direct Energy Centre, Exhibition Place, Toronto, Ontario
PRICE: $150 before September 15, $165 on and after September 15. Includes a ticket to the reception.
Attendee