A conference about the moves in the building industry to promote energy efficient building design takes place at the Robert Gordon University next month.

Aberdeen City Council is a lead partner in the three year EU project Build with CaRe (Carbon Reduction) and is hosting the free conference on 2 June, in conjunction with RGU's Scott Sutherland School of Architecture and Built Environment.

The challenge to reduce the human impact on climate change is widely recognised and has been strongly prioritised by the European Union. The buildings sector alone accounts for 40% of the EU's energy requirements and offers the largest single potential for energy efficiency, so there has already been a significant focus on this sector.

Build with CaRe is a European project which aims to support and promote energy-efficient building design and construction in the North Sea region. The benefits of low energy buildings are well-rehearsed and encompass environmental, financial and social aspects, all of which are at the heart of European and national policy.

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Delegates attending the event will discuss the planning and policy issues related to supporting the implementation of energy efficiency practices in buildings.

The conference will focus on European policy and how it translates into UK and local legislation, while also looking at the policy situation in other EU countries such as Germany, Sweden and France.

The event not only provides an opportunity for discussion with policy makers, planners and the construction industry, but will also give an insight into how such issues are being overcome and policies put into practice.

The conference will include an overview of the Build with CaRe project and will be divided into two themes: Planning and Policy Issues, which will be presented from an EU perspective down to trans-national, national, and local level; and Policy in Practice which will include case studies from EU countries and a discussion about skills development, one of the key challenges in the implementation of energy practices in the construction industry.

It has been organised and will be chaired by Dr Mohamed Abdel-Wahab and Dr David Moore at the Scott Sutherland School of Architecture and Built Environment at RGU.

(GK)