In an effort to keep the Green Deal on the boil, Greenbuild is putting it and the ECO debate at the heart of the show
We are living in interesting times when it comes to sustainability. While the government, through the Localism Act, seems to be championing the agendas of custom builders, who are generally at the forefront of pushing sustainable agendas, the coalition’s purpose seems more opaque. True, in the last budget, George Osborne bigged-up his half million pound DECC fund, disbursed to a few token community energy projects, but according to the UKGBC he did nothing to incentivise zero carbon homes; while the Renewable Energy Association claimed his freezing of the Carbon Price Floor amounts to a tacit nod for energy companies to keep burning fossil fuels. Perhaps the speakers at 2014’s Greenbuild Expo will be able to shed some light on these anomalies.
The show, now in its fifth year, claims to be ‘aimed at those seeking ways to increase energy efficiency, reduce resource usage and improve sustainability in the built environment.’ Free to attend, it offers debates, workshops and seminars, as well as exhibitors showcasing the latest green products and solutions. In an effort to keep the Green Deal on the boil, Greenbuild is putting it and the ECO debate at the heart of the show, giving visitors the opportunity to hear from government departments and key organisations about how to ensure that the Green Deal doesn’t hit the buffers. They might benefit from marketing firm Be2Camp’s Wednesday seminar on ‘Sustainability and Social Media’.
You can hear Rob Pannell from Zero Carbon Hub on performance gaps, and overcoming ECO challenges from Richard Griffiths of Parity Projects, while PRP Architects’ Andrew Mellor will share his experiences of residential housing retrofit. And the Centre for Alternative Technology’s Toby Kellner will review renewable implementation. The views of suppliers and manufacturers are well represented in the programme but make sure you pop along to the dedicated CPD room if you want to top up your required CPD points.
The winners of the Greenbuild Awards will also be announced at a dinner event at Manchester’s Radisson Hotel, with Mole Architects and Richard Partington in contention. Also architect Richard Dudzicki, who, if memory serves me right, once kindly put this stranger up in his Hong Kong flat while a roving year-out student in 1990. I don’t recall thanking him properly at the time; so thanks Richard, if it’s you. Like a zero carbon future – better late than never.
Greenbuild, 7-8 May 2014, Manchester Central. www.greenbuildexpo.co.uk