CIBSE representatives, including Carbon Trust chairman Terry Wyatt will be representing the UK at the Earth Summit in Johannesburg this month.
CIBSE Vice President and head of the Carbon Trust Terry Wyatt will be part of a team heading out to the Earth Summit which takes place this month in Johannesburg. Among the UK representatives are Chris Twinn of Arup, Richard John of FaberMaunsell, Andy Ford of Fulcrum Consulting and David Strong of the Building Research Establishment.

Presentations at the conference include a case study on the Beddington Zero Energy development; the Carbon 60 plan for Plymouth; the Jubilee Campus of Nottingham University; and the sustainable office of the future.

The team will be taking part in the Carbon Session of the conference which also deals with climate change and the built environment. "One of the major events of the conference will be the launch of the Global Alliance for Building Sustainability (GABS)," says Wyatt.

There are 40 international organisations involved in GABS, representing over one million practitioners and businesses around the world. Wyatt comments: "CIBSE are more than simply members of the Alliance, we are also co-sponsors."

The key aim of the Global Alliance is to 'close the gap between policy and practice' in sustainability within three years. The goal is to make sustainable development achievable for practitioners, including engineers.

The Alliance will work in four main sectors: land, property, construction and development. The focus will be on building partnerships between policy makers and practitioners to promote participation, and learning, among the stakeholders involved in these sectors.

GABS members will be able to demonstrate their commitment to real action for sustainable development by signing up to a Charter document.

A set of tools and guidance material aimed at policy makers will also be put together, along with a 'compendium of good practice'.

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Building Sustainable Design