The German American Chamber of Commerce Inc., California Branch (GACC California), organized its first annual Energy Efficiency Symposium at the “green” San Francisco Federal Building on Tuesday, March 4, 2008. The event, focusing on energy efficiency and green building, was part of a German federal trade promotions program which included an organized one-day conference as well as a German business delegation holding one-on-one meetings with US company representatives over the consecutive three days.
The one-day symposium was attended by about 150 industry professionals and provided insights into new developments in the German and American energy efficiency markets. During the conference day, the German companies, who covered various energy efficiency topics ranging from architecture to energy analysis to providers of energy efficient materials, had a chance to present their companies alongside a number of German and American green building experts. Amongst the German experts were Prof. Manfred Hegger from the TU Darmstadt, whose team won the 2007 Solar Decathlon, and Prof. Dr.-Ing. M. Norbert Fisch, the Director of the Institute of Building Services and Energy Design at TU Braunschweig. Lisa Galley, Principal of Galley Eco Capital and USGBC-NCC Board Member, moderated the conferenceand was impressed by the content of the presentations, commenting : "The excellent presentations of the German companies really reflect Germany's strong economic and political commitment to energy efficiency.“
The symposium day ended with a networking reception sponsored by K&L Gates in the Sky Garden of the Federal Building. Guests mingled and further discussed the day’s presentations while enjoying the views over beautiful San Francisco.
The next morning began with a Green Building Tour for the German delegate companies. The first stop was the LEED certified Orchard Garden Hotel where Stefan Muehle, General Manager of the Orchard Hotels, provided insight into what went into the design, construction, and operation of the hotel to make it a “green” building. The group also returned to the San Francisco Federal Building to find out more about what exactly makes this building environmentally friendly.
After the symposium and during the three days following the event, the GACC California organized 104 one-on-one meetings with 25 US industry representatives ranging from architects and builders to public utilities and government officials. The eight attending German companies agreed that the event was definitely worth the trip to California. The German participants had a number of interesting and fruitful meetings that potentially have set-up future business deals and will definitely provide worthwhile connections in the future.
Presentations
Photos (PDF)
Photos (web album)
Attendee List
Program - Energy Efficiency Symposium
Energy Efficiency Symposium Flyer
Organized and financed by:
Supported by:
German delegate companies: BEROCONcept www.berocon.com
Bosch Thermotechnik GmbH www.bosch-thermotechnology.com
Climate Partner Deutschland GmbH www.climatepartner.com
Hirschberg Architekten www.jhirschberg.de
Intep - Integrale Planung GmbH www.intep.com
Ludwig Häußler GmbH www.haeussler-fenster.de
RappAutark e.K. www.autark-haus.de
Think Solar www.solarmarkt.us
Dessert Networking Reception sponsored by:
Flyer printing sponsored by:
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