U.S. Green Building Council Partners with 2016 Green Building Expo in Serbia

November event set to bring together leaders in the U.S. and Europe to advance LEED and green buildings across the continent

WASHINGTON, Oct. 12, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), conference partner of the 2016 Green Building Expo, announced today that Kay Killmann, president of the German Green Building Association (GGBA) and USGBC's official business and education partner in Europe's largest LEED market, will keynote the event.

Held by Energo Group, the conference is set to take place 2-4 November, 2016 at Belexpocentar Hall, Belgrade, Serbia. It is one of Europe's biggest green building industry gatherings of international companies engaged in the promotion of sustainability in the built environment. Today there are more than 1,500 LEED-certified green buildings across Europe, a number that is predicted to increase by as much as 10 percent in 2017. LEED is the most widely used green building rating program in the world.

"Europe plays an important role for the future of LEED and the green building movement, particularly when it comes to the existing buildings market," said Mahesh Ramanujam, COO, U.S. Green Building Council and president, Green Business Certification Inc. (GBCI). "USGBC and GBCI are increasing local capacity around the globe and providing new digital tools to take LEED and building performance goals to a new level, which we look forward to showcasing at this year's Expo."

Killmann leads Europe's LEED technical collaboration, represents Germany on the LEED International Roundtable and works extensively with his regional counterparts to ensure LEED's successful integration into European code and building practices.

"Kay Killmann joins the roster of impressive participants for 2016 Green Building Expo, and his sustainability expertise will undoubtedly resonate with our attendees," said Marija Golubovic, principal and owner of Energo Group.  "The event will bring together industry professionals from the architecture, construction, real estate and building sectors to connect and hear leaders deliver insight, technical knowledge and timely remarks on how to grow and accelerate LEED and green buildings across Europe."

Spread across two days, the 2016 Green Building Expo will also provide participants with a variety of events and workshops, specifically:

• A presentation on measuring building performance and a LEED v4 workshop with Corey Enck, vice president, LEED Technical Development at USGBC
• The economic impact of green buildings with USGBC LEED Fellow Marni Evans
• A session about GRESB, an organization that assesses the ESG performance or real estate portfolios and infrastructure assets, with Rumyana Hristova, GBCI's strategic communications director.
• A workshop on the WELL Building Standard.
• A green journalism workshop with Joe Crea, USGBC's director of international marketing and communications.

More information on the conference is available now at http://www.greenbuildingexpo.rs/en/Register today and follow the Expo on social media with the hashtag: #EuroGreenBuilding

Media Contact: Marisa Long, 1-202-552-1500, Mlong@usgbc.org