Exhibition focused on sustainability for built environment

Now in its sixth year, exhibition for the built environment Greenbuild Expo is once again set to open its doors at Manchester Central from May 7-8. The free-to-attend event has been designed to attract industry and public sector visitors, all of who want to increase energy efficiency, reduce resource usage and improve sustainability. It features more than 150 exhibitors showcasing the latest green products and services for newbuild and refurbishment domestic and commercial properties, as well as a programme of workshops, debates and seminars. These will look at ways to improve the environmental impact of existing building stock as well as creating sustainable buildings of the future.

Join the debate

The Green Deal and Eco debate area will, once again, be at the heart of the show. And it will give visitors the chance to hear from key organisations and government departments on what the Green Deal means for the built environment and how to make the most of the policy. The central debate area will cover topics such as ‘Eco – Overcoming the challenges’, ‘What does energy efficiency mean?’ And ‘The reality of zero carbon building’.

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In addition, there will be themed seminar rooms to offer sessions on a range of topics, across areas such as newbuild, retrofit, smart buildings and water.

There will be a variety of feature areas which include Sustainable Cities, providing green solutions for high density housing and commercial buildings; Greenbuild Awards, showcasing work of all the finalists of the awards and this year will also feature success stories from the Greenbuild Challenge.

Take the challenge

The Greenbuild Challenge is a campaign to place sustainability at the heart of building projects. Supported by the UK Green Building Council and the Energy Saving Trust (EST), it aims to educate and inspire professionals in the building to create sustainable built environments for volume housing and non-domestic properties such as schools and hospitals. It encourages building professionals to make pledges and see the real-life improvements that have already been made.

The pledges include switching to specifying and installing LED lighting instead of halogen. If 40 LED bulbs in a house were run an average of 2.7 hours a day – EST’s typical use figure for a bulb in a kitchen or living room – the running costs would be £23 annually, compared with £287 for halogen.

A spokesperson from Greenbuild Expo said: “We want building owners and occupants to pledge to change their buildings and their behaviour – whether that’s in an office, a block of flats, sheltered housing or a hotel – and then make it happen. It needn’t be a top-to-toe green retrofit – even simple, and low cost, changes can make a big difference.

“Working with partners such as UK GBC and EST, the Greenbuild Challenge aims to raise the debate around sustainability in the built environment. We will continue the debate at this year’s Greenbuild Expo with a great seminar programme – all free to attend.”

For more details on the show and to register visit www.greenbuildexpo.co.uk and follow @greenbuildexpo on twitter for show updates.