NZ's Green Property Summit to focus on sustainable future cities

Green Property Summit 2017 will bring together experts in sustainability and the built environment to discuss how New Zealand can combine building green with lucrative investment opportunities to create healthy cities of the future.

Organised by the New Zealand Green Building Council (NZGBC) and Property Council New Zealand, the summit will be held on 29 March at the Grand Millennium Hotel in Auckland. With the theme ‘Future Cities post 2020’, the event will delve into climate change, technology advancements, energy efficiencies and the development of urban communities within proven guidelines and rating tools.

“With increasingly urbanised populations, cities are the focal point for some of the greatest challenges facing humanity,” said NZGBC Chief Executive Andrew Eagles. “We know that green offices provide better capital returns. New Harvard research outlines staff productivity increases more than 20%. Green certification is the future, with the built environment an essential area of focus of the interface between man and nature.”

The summit will feature keynote speaker Dr John Keung, CEO of Singapore’s Building and Construction Authority (BCA), who will present on how going green isn’t just environmentally sound, but also makes economic sense. Other speakers include:

• Katie Swenson, a Boston-based leader in sustainable design for low-income communities, speaker, author and green design expert.
• Davina Rooney, General Manager Sustainability Stockland’s and sustainability champion, recognised for numerous awards including the NAWIC NSW 2016 Sustainability Award, the PCA 2014 Future Leaders Award and the Sydney University Engineering Young Alumni Award.
• Matthew Ensor, Business Director – Advisory, Beca and Smart Cities consultant, who advocates data-driven smart design to reduce people’s frustrations of living in cities and improve the efficiency of our energy use.
• Peter Mence, Chief Executive, Argosy Property Limited and President of the Property Council of New Zealand.
• Matthew Cockram, Principal and CEO New Zealand, Cooper and Company and independent director of Tainui Group and Waterfront Theatre.

Industry-leading CEOs will also discuss their ‘light bulb moments’ where their perspectives on green buildings have changed, how they see Green Star and NABERSNZ standards as necessities for the industry, and how the adoption of sustainable practices has benefited their organisations.

Connal Townsend, chief executive of Property Council New Zealand, urges urban planners, architects, engineers, construction industry professionals and developers to attend summit.

“The speakers we have at the summit are at the forefront of construction and property issues both nationally and internationally,” he said. “This is a summit you cannot afford to miss.”

For more information and to register for the event, click here.