Natalie Campbell
312.744.2172
Natalie.Campbell@cityofchicago.org
Lisa Xia
312.744.9181
Lisa.Xia@cityofchicago.org
Chicago-China Green Building and Technology Summit Unites Leaders from Sister Cities Chicago and Shanghai
Inaugural Summit Connects Public, Private Sector Leaders in Sustainable Architecture and Development; SunTech, World’s Largest Producer of Solar Panels to Attend
The inaugural Chicago-China Green Building and Technology Summit, hosted by the China Committee of Chicago Sister Cities International, will be held at the Chicago Cultural Center Tuesday, November 17. The first of its kind, the conference will bridge companies, government officials and universities from Chicago and its Sister City in Shanghai to discuss green architecture, sustainable building and retro-fitting existing structures. The conference will be keynoted by U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Representative Daniel Birns.
As part of the conference, representatives from Shanghai-based government, corporations and universities will travel to Chicago to meet with corporate heavy-hitters, including Motorola, Exelon, and Freeborn and & Peters. Their priority: breaking into and establishing their brands in the U.S. market; sharing and observing successful case studies; and meeting with Chicago corporations for potential future partnerships. China-based corporation SunTech, the world’s largest producer of solar panels, will be among the Chinese companies presenting during the summit’s morning sessions.
“Chicago is proud to be one of the world’s greenest cities, and China is currently the strongest global investor in sustainable energy,” said Leroy Allala, Acting Executive Director of Chicago Sister Cities International. “Utilizing our Sister Cities relationships to create partnerships between environmentally conscious cities—like Chicago and Shanghai—is crucial to a sustainable global future. The Chicago-China Green Building and Technology Conference further demonstrates Chicago’s commitment to green initiatives on a global scale to better the life of all residents.”
As leaders in sustainable initiatives, Chicago and Shanghai have already demonstrated a strong history of partnerships. In 2009, the China Committee of Chicago Sister Cities International was awarded a grant from the U.S. Department of Energy for a collaborative research project in geothermal and fuel cell technology between Chicago’s Illinois Institute of Technology and Shanghai’s Tongji University. This conference takes a step further in that direction, linking the public and private sector from both countries to together to initiate new green projects and programs.
The official conference will conclude with the 7th annual Swinging Shanghai gala at Maxim’s. Celebrating 1920s Shanghai as Paris of the East, this gala, the creative black-tie gala will feature a cocktail reception, live entertainment, silent auction and six-course tasting menu, created exclusively for Swinging Shanghai by Executive Chef Alan Yuen of Friendship Restaurant.
