A landmark project to retrofit the iconic Empire State Building into an energy efficient 'green' building will be a highlight of next week's CoreNet Global Summit in Brussels (September 21-22) which takes the theme 'Forward! Positioning for the Turnaround and Beyond'.
The ambitious project to retrofit this New York landmark building will potentially lead to a 38% reduction in carbon emissions and energy costs, saving US $4.4 million over 15 years, while reducing CO2 emissions by 105,000 metric tons.
The expert panel, which includes Ernie Shelton of Johnson Controls, Inc. and Nick Gibbins of Jones Lang LaSalle, will use the project to illustrate that an energy retrofit can be financially justified by the energy cost savings alone.
Other program highlights will include representatives from major international corporates - including Deutsche Bank, Royal Bank of Scotland, Vodafone, Nokia, AstraZeneca, Glaxo SmithKline, and Microsoft presenting their thoughts on the downturn and a tougher business environment.
The keynote presentations will commence with a focus on the global economy, and how Europe is likely to fare in the post-recession world, presented by Norbert Walter, Chief Economist at Deutsche Bank and former adviser to Gerhard Schroder's government.
This will be followed by a general session entitled 'hot topics in corporate real estate' an interactive session moderated by Rene Buck of Buck Consultants International and featuring Laurens Narraina of PriceWaterhouse Coopers; Carsten Brzeski, Chief Economist, ING Brussels; and Jeremy Stretch of Rabobank.
The final keynote session will provide delegates with expert guidance on successful business networking techniques, and will be presented by Jan Vermeiren, a networking coach and author of 'Let's Connect' and 'How to use Linkedin'.
The summit will feature a comprehensive programme of general sessions and education streams, presenting predications, expert opinion and case studies on how to weather the current climate until the turnaround.
In a departure from the usual format, CoreNet Global has announced that the EMEA Summit will take place over two highly focused conference days rather than three, ensuring that delegates need only spend one overnight in Brussels and two days out of the office should time constraints and budgets prove an issue.
However, despite the shorter format, the programme will still include keynote presentations from industry leaders, seminars and workshops, and networking opportunities including a number of breakfasts, lunches, evening entertainment and a closing reception.
CoreNet Global is the world's leading professional association for corporate real estate and workplace executives serving leading multinational companies from the Fortune and Global 1000. More than 7,000 members manage over US $1.2 trillion in real estate and workplace assets in Asia, Australia, Europe, Latin America and North America.
The European network consists of fully integrated chapters in the UK, Benelux and Central Europe (headquartered in Germany and serving a number of countries), each facilitating effective networking practices and the exchange of ideas at a regional, as well as global, level.
Johnson Controls and Microsoft are Platinum sponsors of the Brussels Summit, with Gold sponsors including CBRE and BNP Paribas Real Estate. Silver sponsors include Ahrend, Locate in Birmingham, Eurocres, Qube and Steelcase.
Registration details are available at http://www.corenetglobal.org/
The CoreNet Global EMEA Summit in Brussels takes place September 21-22, 2009 at the Radisson Blu Royal Hotel, Brussels.
Source: FD
