TurkishGBC Activity Update - March 2010

TGBC (ÇEDBİK) became a founding member of the International Sustainability Alliance (ISA). The ISA is the joint initiative of world leading centres of scientific excellence, Green Building Councils, real estate owners, operators, developers, funders and investors and other built environment stakeholders. It has been established and will be managed by the BRE Trust, a research and education charity whose mission is to improve the built environment for all. Members will have access to a suite of tools, comprehensive data, benchmarking, advice, training and information, enabling them to become leaders in this important area and to manage the risk of poor performance of assets in the context of increasingly tough environmental legislation. TGBC (ÇEDBİK) attended Ecobuild in London. Vice President of The Turkish Green Building Council Dr. Duygu Erten and General Coordinator of the council Bengi Atun attended Ecobuild in London. Various conferences were attended and connections made with respect to further collaboration in the field of sustainable building. A Meeting was held during the conference with BRE Global regarding the next steps in the TGBC’s adaptation of BREEAM to Turkey. TGBC (ÇEDBİK) participated in the WGBC Policy Task Force Meeting held on March 5th during Ecobuild. Dr. Duygu Erten and Bengi Atun participated in the Policy Task Force Meeting held by WGBC and gave their input with respect to the formulation of a strategy to bring sustainable buildings to the forefront of international policy in the combatting of climate change and global warming. TGBC completed a 6 part education series on “Green Building Principles” delivered by LEED AP’s. The TGBC ran a six part course focusing on the main evaluation criteria of LEED including sustainable sites, energy and atmosphere, materials and resources, water efficiency and Indoor Air Quality. Each session was delivered by an experinced LEED AP. The education was very successful as indicated in the surveys conducted throughout the course. A certificate of attendance was given to those who participated in the course which will also serve as one of the prerequisites required for entering the LEED Green Associate Exam. The TGBC will continue running similar courses in the future and has opened up a pre-registration corner for it in its website. TGBC took part in a walk in İstanbul to celebrate the “European Sustainable Energy Week”. The walk took place on the 26th of March, from Galatasaray to Taksim, in the historic district of Beyoğlu as part of the ‘İstanbul Sustainable Energy Week’ events. The walk was sponsored by the Municipality of Beyoğlu as part of the events of “The European Sustainable Energy Week”. The slogan for the walk was “sustainable energy one step at a time”. The European Sustainable Energy Week was started in 2005 by the European Commission and is celebrated each year with events, between the 22nd and 26th of March, in Brussels and other European cities. TGBC gave an interview to “Bileşim Yayıncılık” regarding energy certificates in buildings and certification systems like BREEAM and LEED. Various environmental certification systems were explained with a focus on the two used in Turkey, namely BREEAM and LEED. The current status of the sustainable building market in Turkey was explained and the activities of The Turkish Green Building Council to promote sustainable building in Turkey was highlighted. TGBC has acquired 10 new members, amongst which are Schneider Electric, Arkitera Architectural Center, a product manufacturer, Polystyrene Manufacturers Association, an accoustical firm, an architectural practice and four individual members. United World conducted an interview with TGBC regarding sustainable buildings in Turkey. Turkish Green Building Council (ÇEDBİK) is an 'Emerging Council' established in 2007 aiming to be a full member council in 2010.