Washington, D.C. -- Greenbuild is expanding to Europe, to hold a conference April 17-18, in Berlin, Germany, at the Radisson Blu Hotel and Meeting Center. Greenbuild, founded by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), offers a forum for the green building community to unite, change lives, revolutionize business and address pressing issues, such as air quality, human health, energy use and global climate change.

“Greenbuild’s expansion into the European market is reflective of the tremendous leadership and demand from the green building community to learn from and push each other to advance our movement,” said Mahesh Ramanujam, president and CEO, USGBC and Green Business Certification Inc. (GBCI), who will deliver Greenbuild Europe’s closing remarks. “Greenbuild is where the future of the green building movement is shaped and where the ideas and passions of the green building community come alive.”

Rick Fedrizzi, chair and CEO of the International WELL Building Institute, the developers of the WELLBuilding Standard, has been announced as the opening keynote speaker. He is also the founding chair and former CEO of USGBC, the creators of the LEED green building rating system.

“Whenever the green building movement has the opportunity to convene, we marshal new energy to take our work forward,” said Fedrizzi. “We’ve made great progress in improving building performance across every metric; we now need to do the same for human performance by making sure buildings are designed in ways that help people thrive. This ‘second wave’ of sustainability is really exciting, and it will be great to see it continue to take shape at Greenbuild Europe.”

Founded in 2002, Greenbuild is the ideal space to learn about groundbreaking green building products, services, and technologies. Greenbuild Europe will offer two days of inspirational speakers, networking opportunities, industry showcases, and sessions on the LEED green building rating system. Sessions address a variety of important topics, from market transformation and health and wellbeing to codes and certification systems. Attendees can earn continuing education hours at many of the educational sessions.

Green building in Europe is a key strategy in helping the region mitigate the impacts of climate change and improve the efficiency and performance of buildings. Last year, Germany and Turkey made USGBC’s list of Top 10 Countries and Regions for LEED, together representing more than 521 LEED certified projects totaling more than 13 million gross square meters of space. In Europe alone, there are over 2,100 LEED certified projects comprising over 40 million gross square meters of certified space.

USGBC also launched GBCI Europe in 2017 as a local hub serving the needs of the European green building community by providing on-the-ground customer support for regional project teams and stakeholders. Europe has been a leader of the green building market and has the opportunity to continue to drive sustainability at a global scale. GBCI Europe will further facilitate the global growth of a sustainable built environment locally and across the globe.

“Greenbuild offers a tremendous opportunity for green building professionals in Europe to connect with peers and discover the latest market innovation while expanding their knowledge,” said Kay Killmann, managing director, GBCI Europe. “There are more than 2,500 LEED professionals throughout Europe and Greenbuild provides an excellent opportunity for maintaining and expanding these important credentials through the more than 30 dynamic education sessions and workshops.”

Early bird registration for Greenbuild Europe is available through March 21.

For more information, visit greenbuild.usgbc.org.