This year, the Green Building Seminar and Round-table took place at the University for Peace in Ciudad Colon, Costa Rica. A good portion of the Conference tackled Climate Change, which included a variety of lectures, panel discussions and workshops. Among the assistants were students, policymakers, academics and members of business and NGO community.
Dr. Karl-Werner Schulte, HonRICS CRE, International Real Estate Business Schoo began the conference as well as set the pace of the event. The Round-table was hosted by Mr Sven Schulte, a UPeace graduate student himself.With the aid of many university, NGO and business experts, the whole event moved at a smooth pace. Tropisphere’s very own Geoff McCabe was a key note speaker there!
Highlight points discussed in the frame of the Green Building Round-table were:
– Sustainability in a tropical environment, does it need to be adapted?
– LEED in Western countries, and in high profile developments like condominiums and hotels.
– Green Buildings, affordable?
– Problems with inspections, laws and enforcement
– The role of Costa Rica’s seismic and topographic environment as a foundation for green buildings
– Concerning commercial real estate: Is it a true vehicle for exercising Corporate Social Responsibility or just a mirage for “greenwashing” (to pretend to be green but not really practicing it).
– Costa Rica’s role as a biological corridor, and how this needs to be implemented and considered in green building projects
The subjects treated in the Workshops were:
* Climate Change Adaptation Through Sustainable Livelihoods Protection
* Carbon Neutrality as a Tool Towards Climate Change Mitigation
* Climate Change and You: Reflection and Action
* Climate Change and Economics
For more information about the Conference and the Seminar or lectures visit the University for Peace web site: http://www.upeace.org/news/activity.cfm?id_activity=623&actual=2010 or contact us at:
Tel:(506) 2642-1434
Email: sandy@tropisphere.com / csherman@tropisphere.com