Cities everywhere are grappling with the challenges of rapid population growth, fluctuating energy prices, shortages in funds for infrastructure renewal, and the need to deal with the often devastating impacts of extreme weather incidents. The need for more sustainable urban management policies and programs is more urgent than ever as governments and businesses alike tackle issues of energy and water supply, transportation, waste management, and sustainable infrastructure.

In a powerful new series focused on building sustainable urban communities, top industry executives, municipal officials, and thought leaders from around the world will convene at GLOBE 2014 from March 26-28, 2014 in Vancouver, Canada to discuss the impending challenges and opportunities at stake with respect to Building Resilient Cities.

“Integral to any discussion on urban development is a re-evaluation of how cities around the world are responding to the effects of climate change – especially in the face of global population growth and migration,” says John Wiebe, President and CEO of the GLOBE Foundation. “At GLOBE 2014, attendees will have the opportunity to meet with key players and learn best practices from visionaries at the forefront of these decisions.”

“From carbon neutral buildings, to adapting to climate change, the way we build and operate our cities is being transformed,” says Sadhu Johnston, Co-Chair, Urban Sustainable Directors’ Network, co-author of The Guide to Greening Cities, and Deputy Manager, City of Vancouver. “As cities move forward in implementing innovative strategies, they are balancing the need to reduce risks of changing climate with the demands to reduce carbon and improve the quality of life in our cities. The discussion at GLOBE will be a unique forum to explore the transformation of how our cities adopt leading green city practices”.

Johnston will join several other acclaimed speakers in this GLOBE 2014 series including: David Miller, CEO of WWF Canada, former Mayor of Toronto, and former Chairman of the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group; Martha Delgado, General Director of the Global Cities Covenant on Climate Secretariat and former Environment Minister for Mexico City; Jesse Berst, Chairman of the Smart Cities Council; John Williams, Chairman and CEO of Impact Infrastructure; and Peter Busby, Managing Director, Perkins+Will Architects.

Cities around the globe are working to reduce their carbon footprint, scale back energy consumption, and respond to the tangible effects of climate change. With the costs of replacing infrastructure, and the need for new investment models that serve both the public and private sector, they have the potential to turn infrastructure deficit problems into opportunities to create more resilient cities. Moreover, unprecedented investments in measuring and reporting the success of green initiatives offer increasingly tangible performance indicators for assessing and responding to developments in urban sustainability.

Advancements in building operations and information and communication technologies offer a wealth of promise both in terms of economic and environmental efficiency. Over the coming decades, urban planners, architects, designers, engineers, government officials, and private and public sector businesses will need to develop more responsive strategies for coping with shocks and stresses to our urban infrastructure systems.

Building Resilient Cities will include the following sessions:

• Next Generation Cities: Smarter, Faster, Better
• Regenerative Design for High-Performance, Net Positive Communities
• Striving for Carbon Neutral Cities: What Will it Take?
• The Infrastructure Deficit: A Problem or an Opportunity?
• Resilient Cities Don’t Just Happen: Embracing Global Best Practices
• Goodbye Miami? Planning for the Climate Realities of Today and Tomorrow
• City Success Stories: Securing Financing for Low-Carbon Development Projects
• Interactive Workshop: Cities Can’t Go it Alone!

Other key themes for this international forum on business and the environment include:
The Changing Energy Landscape; Food & Water Security: Protecting our Most Valuable Resources; Towards the Circular Economy; Responsible Resource Management; Clean Capitalism: Financing Sustainable Innovation; China – Our Shared Future; and The Aboriginal Advantage.

As the world’s largest and longest-running conference and exposition series dedicated to the business of the environment, GLOBE 2014 will feature an impressive lineup of conference speakers, including globally-recognized thought leaders and environmental business experts. The prestigious biennial event will also welcome more than 400 exhibitors from North America, Latin America, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia to its world-renowned exposition, where they will showcase the latest in sustainable technologies, innovations, and services.

GLOBE 2014 offers municipal delegates preferred rates. For more information visit 2014.globeseries.com/home/conference/rates-and-fees.

For more information, visit www.GLOBESeries.com.
Find us on Twitter: @GLOBE_Series

About GLOBE
GLOBE 2014 is produced by GLOBE Events a member of the Group of Companies, a conglomerate of privately-held companies dedicated to the business of the environment. GLOBE’s expertise lies in project management, event development, and management consulting in the fields of environment and energy, urban development, and corporate responsibility. The GLOBE Group is North America’s longest operating producer of environmental events.

GLOBE Series

GLOBE Series

For the past 25 years, GLOBE Series has served as the nexus for global networking and leadership on the business of the environment. We’re about ‘Business Innovation for the Planet’ and thinking outside the box. GLOBE Series helps thousands of leaders devise winning strategies to spearhead their sectors while conserving resources, igniting innovation, and fueling ideas to help increase resiliency and reduce risk. GLOBE Series is proud to produce two biennial award-winning events: GLOBE Forum and GLOBE Capital.

GLOBE Forum offers an exciting vibe and international flair where innovators come to launch new products and partnerships. Held every two years in Vancouver, Canada, GLOBE Forum draws the best and brightest of the international sustainable business community from nearly 60 countries.

Watch the video to learn more about the GLOBE Forum event.

Join us at GLOBE Forum 2018, March 14 - 16, 2018.

GLOBE Capital is where leaders discuss how to mobilize and accelerate the capital necessary to transform our economy. Goals of this conference are to attract both innovation and new pools of capital to fund advanced, low-carbon infrastructure while mitigating investment risk and enhancing returns.

Watch the video to learn more about the GLOBE Capital event.

Join us at GLOBE Capital, Spring 2019

More from GLOBE Series