(For more information and to register, see SB08's website.)

The impact of building and planning on sustainability and Climate Change will be on the agenda at the 2008 World Sustainable Building Conference (SB08), to be held in Melbourne, Australia on September 21-25, 2008.

Held every three years, this will be the first time this international event has been held in Australia, and is the peak gathering of the world’s leading sustainable development experts and researchers. SB08 will set the agenda for global solutions for sustainable building and planning for business and industry – including government policies.

More than 1500 delegates will attend the five day event, with key plenary sessions and special forums addressing all aspects of the future of sustainable built environment and planning for countries around the world.

Opening the Conference is Professor Bill Rees, from the University of British Columbia, and the man best known as the originator of the ‘ecological footprint analysis’ concept.

Other keynote international speakers include the leader of California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Green Action Team, Ms Rosario Marin. The Green Action Team is implementing a policy and action agenda aimed at ‘greening’ the state.

Internationally recognised leading practitioners, Joe van Belleghem (urban development & re-development) and Bruce Fowle (green building and architecture) will also give keynote presentations. Joe is co-developer of Dockside Green, a 15-acre waterfront urban redevelopment project in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. And Bruce is one of the architects of the new sustainable New York Times Building in collaboration with Renzo Piano Building Workshop.