First Int’l Green Building Summit begins

First International Green Building Summit, which aims to create awareness in Turkey about the environmental impacts of buildings and to raise the level of know-how, kicked off in Istanbul on Monday.
The two-day summit is organized by the Turkish Green Building Council (TGBC) –-part of the World Green Building Council (WGBC) network -- with the support from the Ministry of Environment and Urbanism. Chairman of TGBC Haluk Sur and Chairman of WGBC Rick Fedrizzi as well as Environment and Urbanism Minister Erdoğan Bayraktar, Chairman of Capital Markets Board of Turkey Vedat Akgiray and President of Housing Development Administration (TOKİ) Ahmet Haluk Karabel spoke at the opening ceremony.

Minister Bayraktar announced that incentives will be given to those who construct green buildings and produce environment friendly materials for construction through tax breaks and loans. He also mentioned Parliament is considering passing a law that will give priority to regions that are deemed risk areas with regard to natural disasters as a part of the government’s urban transformation project. Noting the urbanization rate is currently at 80 percent in the country, he said buildings consume 40 percent of energy in Turkey, which spends $55 billion on energy expenditures. Green buildings could result in as much as 50 percent in energy savings in the future. TGBC Chairman Sur noted a new movement, called “building green,” is making waves in the construction and real estate Turkey sectors, meaning the houses will be categorized as green or not-green. Sur emphasized the summit will pave the way for Turkey to take better care of the environment and sustain it for future generations. He underlined that with only a 2 percent increase in the standard cost contractors can build green buildings, and said, “By means of this summit we will be able to transfer local and global cutting edge information on products and services in line with sustainability criteria, which have become an obligation and a responsibility for the sector.”

WGBC Chairman Fedrizzi said the building green movement grew out of a conversation between a couple people but is now established in 84 countries through representative councils. Fedrizzi noticed that the growth of the movement, which has reached such a remarkable point, was made possible by following three points. He described those points as relaying three simple messages: “People are important,” “green awareness is a mindset” and “try to be disruptive yet positive about the cause.”

He said the building green movement aims to help people understand the real purpose of the movement, which is to improve the lives of families and create better neighborhoods as well as living and working spaces. The movement also goes beyond the usual quest for profit and that the people involved in the movement are passionate about environment. He noted the success of the movement will be measured in the long term, and added, “We need to be a positive yet disruptive force for global change and market transformation on a global scale.” He also spoke about protecting the historic importance of Istanbul, saying “a city that bridges east and west has a new future [by building green],” and expressed his admiration for the traditional local houses in the rural areas of western and eastern Turkey, and the techniques used to build them, which make them cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter.

Capital Markets Board President Akgiray said environmental issues should be taken more seriously in countries that have less energy resources because environmental awareness can reduce the energy imports. He said his board helps finding financing for businesses that operate in construction sector and that the board plans to announce new criteria for categorizing real estate and base the value estimates on standard and green criteria. “This will raise awareness and attract businesses to invest in Istanbul with green buildings,” he added.

TOKİ President Karabel emphasized the environmental impact should be on the agenda of the construction sector and that energy costs should be minimized. He said, “Refining rain water, reducing cooling and heating expenses, the maximum use of solar power and lessening the impact of the buildings on the environment should be the top priority of the sector.”