You’re invited to the green party

Mark Langdon, consultant project manager
I’ll be interested in finding out about new transport systems, the infrastructure they need and how that interfaces with buildings. For instance, cycling is in the media, but where do you store bicycles, or what about the battery chargers for electric cars? Then there’s the associated infrastructure if you’re actually generating power, and how that’s fed back to the power companies and the grid. There’s a government consultation about this at the moment. It’s a fluid area and it would be interesting if the latest thinking on this could be presented.

Garry Fannon, design manager at Galliford Try and CIOB ambassador
I’ll be looking for new technologies and new materials. The market is moving incredibly fast, and as a business we have to be able to offer our clients alternatives, for example on renewable energy. One attraction is Renew, which is about achieving zero carbon on refurbishment projects – much more challenging than on new build. We also do a lot of healthcare work, where BREEAM excellent is now mandatory, so I’m interested in the ‘BREEAM and materials’ seminar.

Mike Priaulx, NHBC
I will be interested to see what Boris Johnson has to say about sustainable development in London, and whether he will continue with Ken’s strong environmental agenda. The UK Green Building Council are also on the agenda and I’d like to see if they believe the government’s goal for zero carbon development by 2016 is still achievable. The event is also a good chance to view the latest technology. Although well-established products are still the market leaders in many areas, new products, such as greywater recycling units, have the potential to genuinely transform many of our homes. And it will be interesting to see the RuralZED zero carbon home, for an idea of how this type of place may look.

Dave Hampton, ‘carbon coach’ and CIOB ambassador
I’m looking forward to seeing lots of chief executives and entrepreneurs, the big hitters who avoided anything with ‘eco’ in its name before 2009. And I’m looking forward to NOT seeing many of my good old ‘green’ friends, who are instead busy working on the plans for the sort of sustainability that will involve that little utopian luxury of species survival, a step beyond the ‘eco construction’ we’re familiar with. What about restorative buildings, that give more back to the environment than they take? That would be a boom industry in tough times.

George Martin, head of sustainable development, Willmott Dixon
It seems there will be much more of an emphasis on existing stock. With the new Climate Change Act and the government’s target of an 80% cut in carbon emissions by 2050, existing stock is where the action is. But I’m a bit underwhelmed by new products – do we really need 30 solar thermal systems? The whole innovation market is so incredibly fragmented, I wonder how many of these firms will be around in five years. People will be left with products that don’t work because a component has failed. We need to see some consolidation. But the good thing about Ecobuild is that it allows you to see, feel and touch.

Lynne Sullivan, executive director, sustainable design, Inbuilt
I am hoping to see evidence at Ecobuild that UK manufacturers are recognising designers need high-performance products – which preferably do not need to be paid for in euros! For several projects we are designing to Passivhaus standards of energy efficiency – homes, schools and workplace buildings – and our choice of windows and doors has been limited to Scandinavian products. Even for walling systems, there are only a few systems where U-values around 0.1 are marketed and have been tried and tested in the UK.