SASBE 2012

Another big day at cib's Smart and Sustainable Built Environment Conference. Here, Claude Ouimet of Interface flooring opens the main conference with a talk about the importance of emotion in a company and how sustainability is not a tack-on, but a mission or value of an organization which can save millions of dollars (in the case of Interface) in waste costs (if nothing else.)

Secretary General of the International Council for Research and Innovation in Building and Construction (CIB), Wim Bakens, also spoke about the future of the construction industry. As most western countries reach their post-peak in construction (due to lack of need of new building stock, etc.), in order to maintain economic value and an influx of accredited workers, the construction industry should rid itself of corruption and sell itself through the value we can add to the building stock through sustainable design and practices.

There were more keynotes and some break out sessions and, as usual, lots of networking. I spent the post-conference evening walking around our part of São Paulo with a Brazilian, two Dutch, a Swede, an Indian living in the UK, and an American living in Ethiopia. All of us seem to have different focus points- for one, he was a plant geneticist working in architecture and urban planning, another researches perceptions of smart buildings and small urban plots, yet another works on waste flows and treatment in developing countries. So much to talk about!