Registration Opens for Greenbuild Europe 2020, Frank McDonald Announced as Keynote Speaker

The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), creators of the LEED green building rating system, announced that registration is now open for Greenbuild Europe. The conference will be held March 24-25, 2020 in Dublin, Ireland, at Croke Park and features a keynote from former Irish Times editor and author Frank McDonald, as well as remarks from USGBC and Green Business Certification Inc. (GBCI) president and CEO Mahesh Ramanujam.

Now in its third year, Greenbuild Europe is the flagship event for sustainability professionals helping to shape the future of green buildings, cities and communities. The conference offers a forum for the region’s growing green building community to share best practices, learn about the latest LEED and green building developments, and connect with peers and market leaders.

Europe is currently home to more than 6,500 LEED projects, representing more than 185 million gross square meters of space. In 2018, Turkey, Germany and Spain were among the top 10 countries and territories globally for LEED green building.

“Opening registration for Greenbuild Europe is always exciting for me and officially starts the countdown to what will be a powerful conference experience,” said Kay Killmann, managing director of GBCI Europe. “In just over 100 days, Europe’s best and most talented changemakers will participate in a program designed to drive the future of green building in a market that consists of more than 40 countries with diverse perspectives on sustainability and green building. Climate change is one of the biggest challenges we face and it knows no border. Greenbuild Europe is our community’s chance to show the world how we are a part of the solution.”

The reasons for building green vary country by country, but the level of green building activity in Europe is expected to grow through 2021. Greenbuild provides the building, design and construction industry a method for staying updated on the latest practices and strategies. Education sessions will cover net zero, health and well-being, materials and resilience, as well as LEED v4.1 and other green rating systems, such as WELL, Passive House and BREEAM. USGBC is partnering with the Irish Green Building Council (IGBC) for the 2020 conference.

In addition to education and networking opportunities, attendees will hear from inspiring speakers who are involved in some of the most pressing issues facing cities and communities. One of those people, Frank McDonald, author and award-winning journalist and former editor at the Irish Times, will provide the closing keynote at Greenbuild Europe.

McDonald has written several books on building and urban development in Ireland, notably "The Destruction of Dublin," and has also been vocal about the city's housing crisis in recent years, as well as the climate crisis. He started his journalistic career as a freelance New York correspondent for theIrish Press, subsequently working as a sub-editor and reporter for the paper. McDonald then went on to a long career at the Irish Times, becoming environment correspondent in 1986 and environment editor in 2000. He retired from the paper in 2015.

Action on climate change is a top priority in Europe, and communities are paying closer attention to the role buildings play in mitigating growing climate and socio-economic risks. Greenbuild provides the chance for those in the European building industry to better understand how their work impacts human, as well as environmental and climate health.

Continuing education hours will be offered for attendees to help maintain their LEED professional credential. The conference full program is now available online. In addition to Europe, Greenbuild events are hosted annually in India, China, Mexico and the U.S., and are the premier convener for the green building industry. For more information on Greenbuild Europe 2020 and to register, visit greenbuild.usgbc.org/europe, follow @GBCIEurope and @USGBC on Twitter and tweet #GreenbuildEurope to join the conversation.