Tue
22
Apr
Build Green Now 2025: Towards a circular and resource efficient construction sector
Conference
Build Green Now 2025: Towards a circular and resource efficient construction sector
15 May 2025
Presential
Join us at Build Green Now 2025, the Irish Green Building Council’s conference on sustainable construction attended by industry leaders, policymakers, and innovators to explore the next steps toward a circular and resource-efficient built environment.
Details of the conference
15 May 2025, 10:00 - 15:00 CET
Presential
Dublin
The Round Room at The Mansion House
Dawson Street , Dublin
Organiser:
Irish Green Building Council – IGBC
At the conference, the Irish Green Building Council will officially launch 'Building a Circular Ireland', a roadmap designed to accelerate reuse, bio-based materials, and innovative circular strategies in Ireland’s construction sector.
Key topics of Build Green Now 2025:
- Circularity and resource efficiency: How Ireland can build an innovative ecosystem, a reuse sector, and a bio-based materials sector, maintaining the value of materials and supporting the long-term implementation of the EPBD.
- EPBD and Policy updates: Latest developments in the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) and fast-changing policy landscape
- Better using existing buildings: How we can optimise our building stock.
Welcome & Launch of Circularity Roadmap
10:00 - 10:30
Opening remarks and presentation on the circularity roadmap.
James Browne
Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage of Ireland
Keynote: Circular Economy Principles
10:30 - 10:45
Accelerating the adoption of circular economy principles across the European building and construction sector.
Carolina Montano Owen
Technical Lead, Sustainable Buildings at World Green Building Council
Panel: Building a Circular Ireland
10.45 - 11:15
Discussion on transitioning Ireland’s building sector to circularity. This will include recent developments on the Government Timber in Construction Working group.
John Casey
Director at CORA Consulting Engineers
Ossian Smyth
Former Irish Government Minister
Victoria Jansens
Associate Director at Arup
Embodied Ecological Impact of Materials
11:45 - 12:05
What is the Embodied Ecological Impact of materials and why should we care?
Kai Liebetanz
UKGBC
Case Study: Circular by Design
12:05 - 12:15
How do we integrate design for disassembly and design for adaptation into building designs.
Karolina Bäckman Faulkner
3XN
Resource use
12:15 - 12:30
How does urban design impact resource use?
Philip Comerford
UCD
Panel: Material Life-Cycle Assessment
12:30 - 13:00
What is the relationship between resource efficiency, life cycle material circularity, carbon emissions and ecology. How do we design to minimise impacts across these areas?
Kai Liebetanz
Head of Nature and Resources at UKGBC
Philip Comerford
Senior Architect Senior Architect at Philip Comerford Architects
Karolina Bäckman Faulkner
Associate & Circular Design Specialist with GXN
Communicating Climate Action in a Changing World
14:00 - 14:15
A guide for sustainability professionals – Communicating on climate action in a more challenging global environment (e.g., politics in the US and Europe), but also to give them some tips on how to engage senior management (e.g. CEO) more on sustainabilit
Helen Shaw
Climate Solutions Storyteller, Athena Media
Panel: Optimising Our Building Stock
14:15 - 14:45
How to maximise the efficiency of existing building stock.
Adrian Joyce
Renovate Europe
Fiona Craven
DCC
More speakers to follow
Closing Speaker
14:45 - 15:00
Final thoughts and key takeaways from the conference.
Healy-Rae
Minister