Under the patronage of His Excellency the Minister of Environment, Mohamad al Machnouk, the Third International Conference for Environmental Technologies, Sustainability and Clean Energy, “EcOrient” began on Wednesday, June 4 at "Biel" in downtown Beirut. The exhibition is organized by IFP Group in partnership with the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Paris (CCI). The conference which will run concurrently with the 19th International Construction Trade Exhibition for Lebanon and the Middle East, "Project Lebanon 2014", is supported by the Ministry of Environment , the Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture of Beirut and Mount Lebanon, the Order of Engineers and Architects of Beirut, the Lebanese Solar Energy Society (LSES), the Lebanese Center for Energy Conservation, and the Lebanon Green Building Council (LGBC), as well as the American Society for Heating and Refrigeration – Lebanese branch, and the Arab Association for Sustainable Development.
The conference opened with a welcome note by the Chairman of IFP Lebanon, Mr. Albert Aoun, followed by a word from the President of the Order of Engineers & Architects, Mr. Khaled Chehab, before minister Machnouk gave a speech applauding these types of events and environmental initiatives. The conference then commenced with the first of 6 seminars, taking place over a two-day period in the presence of officials from government agencies and with the participation of more than 30 speakers from experts representing major environmental organizations, and leading institutions in the field of clean and alternative energy, to representatives of scientific institutes and research institutions of environmental studies.
The first session moderated by Vice President and Board Member of the Lebanon Green Building Council (LGBC), Eng. Rabih Khairallah, was devoted to discuss the "Green Construction Law in Lebanon", where member of the council board of OEA, Eng. Wissam Tawil spoke of the role of the Order of Engineers and Architects in greening the Construction Law. Vice President of Beirut Municipality, Mr. Nadim Abou Rizk, presented the “Sustainability Action Plan” of the municipality and "Solidere" for the city. While the Director General of Urban Planning in the Ministry of Public Works & Transportations, Mr. Elais Al Tawil shed light on the issue of “Adopting Green Standards” and the concept of “Green Flooring”.
The second session moderated by Board Member of the Lebanon Green Building Council (LGBC), Mr. Ziad Haddad explored the “Future of Sustainable Building Design in Lebanon” and featured the presence of Mr. Antoine Chaaya Partner, Renzo Piano Building Workshop, Paris, PhD Architect, Green Building Consultant, LEED Accredited Professional, Italy, Dr. Antoine Dahdah, and the President of the Lebanon Green Building Council (LGBC), Mr. Aram Yeretzian.
The first day concluded with the third working session titled “Solar Photovoltaic Panels & Solar Collectors Acting as a New Architecture Function” and moderated by Mr. Walid El Baba, Former President & Board Member of the Lebanese Solar Energy Society (LSES). Attending were Mr. James Cass, Business Development & Sales Manager, Dulas, UK and Dr. Andreas Schüler, Research Group Nanotechnology for Solar Energy Conversion, (LESO), Switzerland. At the end of the seminar, Professor Ali Sultan presented a case study for power generation through 400m2 of solar photo voltaic panels in lot 1394 at Minet Al Hosn-Beirut.
The second day of the conference taking place on Thursday June 5, will address vital and influential matters in the development of alternative and renewable energy in the Middle East, where three sessions shall be held to discuss the topics; "Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats of the Solar Photovoltaic Market in Lebanon”, "Green in Education," and the CES-MED European Union Program: Cleaner Energy Saving Mediterranean Cities.
The European Union backed “Cleaner Energy Saving Mediterranean Cities” (CES-MED) project has declared an initiative to encourage the heads and members from various municipalities in Lebanon to attend the conference by covering their transportation and registration costs.
ifpinfo
4 May
