Upcoming Event
September 25th, 2009

Please join us for a fascinating and practical presenation on Israeli Energy Saving Technologies at Yotvata near Eilat, September 25th.

Contractors are increasingly looking to build green buildings, and fewer people are complaining about the slight extra cost, panelists at a green building workshop said last week.

The Israeli Institute of Energy and Environment hosted the workshop for professionals at its building in Tel Aviv.

The sense of those involved on the ground – contractors, consultants and environmental officials – was that green building was becoming increasingly prevalent. Local environmental officials noted more housing complexes in the Dan region being built to the green standard. The Union of Contractors advocates adopting green building practices, and large companies such as the Arison Group’s Shikun & Binui have pledged to meet the Israeli standard for green building in all new projects. All new government buildings must meet that standard as well.

Broadly speaking, two wars have swept over the world in the past few years: the war on terror and the battle for the environment. Now, a new initiative plans to merge the two and make Israel a leader in confronting them both, at least where buildings are concerned.

The MyPlanet consortium has brought together building companies, security specialists and an environmental NGO in a unique partnership to construct secure green buildings from scratch, or refit existing structures, so that they can both withstand the ravages of a terror attack while saving energy and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Homes, hotels, factories, office buildings old and new – all can benefit.