World of Walas was part of the innovation tradeshow at GLOBE 2018, a world leading conference for sustainability professionals around the world. Between March 14th and March 16th, we saw a great hunger for global innovations for solving sustainability issues for the urban development industry.
With most nations in the world adopting CO2 emission reductions of 80% compared to 1990 levels, buildings have become a critical forefront for investment in CO2 reductions. Buildings account for 30% of all global emissions annually. These emissions are long lasting as most buildings last at least half a century. The demand for sustainable buildings has been compounded by consumer demand for higher comfort through amenities such as increased natural lighting, better temperature control and cleaner indoor atmospheres. Canadians are increasingly seeing the opportunity to source innovations from Europe with the Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), a progressive trade agreement that eliminates 98%-99% of the tariffs between the EU and Canada.
While much of the urban development has previously focused on the technical challenges of achieving ecological sustainability, there has been a greater emphasis on social sustainability this year. Visitors to our booth expressed interest in our signature and ethical development that supports and emphasizes the importance of a community’s DNA.
As World of Walas, we are excited to be an access-to-innovation platform globally. We would like to thank the Dutch Consulate of Vancouver for sponsoring our attendance at the conference.