ecobuild owners, Futurebuild Events, have announced the establishment of two consultative groups featuring leading industry experts to help shape the format and direction of the 2018 edition of the event.
The new owners have also revealed that they will be launching a series of digital polls to collect feedback and insights directly from professionals and influencers across the built environment.
Comprising an advisory board and a steering group, the expert panels have been tasked with supporting Futurebuild Events in its mission to refresh the ecobuild experience and deliver an exciting new format that’s nothing like an ‘ordinary’ trade show.
The groups will provide key insights and feedback on the format and content of ecobuild 2018, to ensure the event reflects and addresses key industry priorities and offers the best possible experience for all attendees and stakeholders.
To expand industry input even further, the digital polls will gather additional feedback from ecobuild’s extensive online community. Rolled out over a three week period across ecobuild’s social channels and also via email, the polls will give audiences a platform to have their say in the planning of the event’s format and content.
Martin Hurn, Managing Director of Futurebuild Events, said: “Under new, independent ownership, we’re determined that ecobuild will be different. For a start, we understand that to be as relevant and valuable as possible, it’s crucial to really involve the industry in shaping ecobuild 2018 from the very start. Indeed, we very much see our role as facilitating built environment professionals in evolving the event around the things that truly matter to them – rather than us simply dictating the agenda.
“The steering group and advisory board will play a central role in helping ensure ecobuild remains the foremost industry platform for sharing ideas, learning about the latest innovations and forging valuable new relationships. The polls, meanwhile, will extend our ability to gain preferences and opinion directly from the wider industry – allowing us to make sure that every element we add to the programme has been curated and fine-tuned around the key priorities identified by our audiences.”
The advisory board includes big name past exhibitors such as Portakabin, Recticel Insulation, Celotex, Bauder and the Italian Trade Agency. Commenting, Kevin Bohea, Director at Recticel Insulation said: “Being able to feedback and provide suggestions on what works well and what could be improved with ecobuild is fantastic. It is great for Recticel to be part of the conversation, making more connections in the construction world, whilst looking for innovations to further reduce the carbon footprint of our products.”
The steering group, meanwhile, is made up of representatives from some of the industry’s leading, forward-thinking organisations including the Construction Leadership Council, CIBSE, ICE, BRE and ZEDfactory. The group will help to shape the centrepiece ecobuild 2018 conference programme. Three key themes have been identified to date: leadership and innovation, housing and social inclusion – overcoming inequality and energy, resources and infrastructure, all of which are set to play a leading role in the conference line up.
The group has also called for various types of sessions to take place across ecobuild 2018, including panels, contentious debates, question time-type events, lectures and soap-boxes.
Hurn concludes: “We’ll be revealing more about ecobuild 2018 over the coming months as we work together with our industry partners and stakeholders to shape and evolve the event. But we want to get as much insight from all our audiences as possible – so we’d urge built environment professionals to look out for the polls and get involved, or to simply get in touch with us directly with your views.”