Greenbuild to Expand Globally

PHILADELPHIA — The annual Greenbuild International Conference and Expo will now travel outside the U.S. with the announcement of a Greenbuild conference in Verona, Italy.
In a partnership between the U.S. Green Building Council, Washington-based media and marketing company Hanley Wood, Green Building Council Italia (GBC Italia) and Veronafiere, the Greenbuild for Europe and the Mediterranean region will launch in Verona in October 2014. The announcement is part of an initiative to expand the Greenbuild brand to international markets, said Rick Fedrizzi, president, CEO and founding chair of the USGBC.
“This new experience will serve as a platform for green building knowledge and shared expertise across continents, while scaling the breadth and reach of global market transformation,” he said.
Though it took USGBC 20 years to achieve their current status as green building leaders, Fedrizzi said other countries may need only two or three years to achieve that same level of commitment to sustainable building.
The global platform will allow international green building organizations to share best practices and support international innovation.
GBC Italia President Mario Zoccatelli expressed his excitement to be part of the new global platform as well as the market transformation. The USGBC as well as the LEED community has been an interest of GBC Italia from the very beginning, he said.
“Green building is not new to Europe and the Mediterranean region. With its rich history in architecture and building design, this area of the world is naturally focused on sustainable buildings,” Zoccatelli said. “LEED, as a global system, provides unique opportunities for us to advance green building in a completely new way. Greenbuild will serve as a mechanism to promote LEED and other green building tools across the continent.”
The opportunity to collaborate on an international level will foster great results that will change the culture of green building in Europe and Italy, said Marco Mari, vice president for GBC Italia. GBC Italia also hopes to strengthen cultural ties with the U.S. through green building practices.
“Bringing the American experience and American mindset to Italy and to Europe is another great opportunity to bridge these two cultures together using the common ground of sustainability,” said Francesco Bedeschi, executive board member of GBC Italia.
Additionally, the Green Building Council Brazil also announced a Greenbuild conference that will take place in Sao Paulo in August 2014.