LONDON, 12 FEBRUARY 2008 – The Sustainable Environment Foundation announced today that Zac Goldsmith, environmental activist and director of The Ecologist magazine, will be a keynote speaker at its ‘Living in a Low Carbon World’ conference, to be held at the Royal Geographical Society in London on 17 April 2008.

Goldsmith will join other leading figures from industry, politics and academia at the interactive one-day event to explore the actions necessary to substantially reduce the impact of the built environment on climate change. His speech will examine how human needs can be balanced with the planet’s resources to create truly sustainable communities.

Commenting on his appearance at the conference, Goldsmith said: “The defining challenge is to harmonise the market with the environment. An economy that puts no value on the natural world cannot be sustained. But an environmentalism that ignores the needs of people will be rejected. Living in a Low Carbon World is addressing that challenge, and I’m delighted to have been asked to contribute.”

Living in a Low Carbon World Conference 2008 will continue the rich debate and the call to action that began at the inaugural conference in 2007. This ongoing collaboration of industry leaders will focus on finding solutions to the global climate challenge by identifying programmes and advanced technologies that will pave the way for a truly green industrial revolution.

Sustainable Environment Foundation Chairman and CEO of Quintain Estates, Adrian Wyatt, commented: “We are very excited that Zac Goldsmith will participate in the conference. Zac is a leading voice for environmental awareness, protection and change. Dedication and determination such as his can have an enormous influence on individual and social behaviours and help to create a cleaner and more sustainable environment for future generations.”

Chaired by James Naughtie of BBC Radio 4's Today Programme, the Living in a Low Carbon World Conference 2008 will bring together more than 20 world renowned industry and political leaders to discuss the global challenges facing industry and the solutions to combating climate change.

The Living in a Low Carbon World Conference is hosted by the Sustainable Environment Foundation, a unique property industry charity founded to promote public awareness of and research into the impact of the built environment on climate change.

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Notes to Editors:
With cities contributing approximately 75% of all heat-trapping greenhouse gas emissions to our atmosphere, while only comprising 2% of land mass, large cities are critical to winning this fight and slowing the pace of global warming. Clinton Climate Initiative

If everyone on earth consumed as much as the average person in the UK, we would need three planets to support us. One Planet Living

20% of UK carbon impact is associated with large infrastructure projects such as roads and airports.


The Low Carbon World Conference 2008 Participants

• Adrian Wyatt, OBE, Chairman, Sustainable Environment Foundation and Chief Executive Officer, Quintain Estates and Development PLC
• Dr. Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, Chief Executive Officer, Masdar, Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company
• Hilary Benn, Secretary of State for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (invited)
• James Naughtie, BBC Radio 4's Today Programme
• Zac Goldsmith, Director, The Ecologist (former Editor of The Ecologist for 10 years)
• Sir Duncan Michael, Director, Arup Trustees Company
• Daniel Labbad, Chief Operating Officer, Lend Lease
• Michael Soederlund, Deputy Mayor, Stockholm and City Commissioner, City Building and Traffic
• Liz Peace, Chief Executive Officer, British Property Federation
• James Cameron, Vice Chairman, Climate Change Capital
• John Plender, Chairman, Quintain Estates and Development PLC and Financial Commentator
• Jean-Paul Jeanrenaud, Head of Business and Industry, WWF International
• Joan MacNaughton, Senior Vice President, Power and Environmental Policies, Alstom
• Gearoid Lane, Director of Power and Gas Procurement, Centrica
• Bob Taylor, MD, Energy Wholesale E.ON, UK
• Dale Vince, OBE, Chief Executive Officer, Ecotricity
• Rt Reverend Richard Chartres, Bishop of London
• Graham Whitney, Director of Strategy, Marketing and Change Initiatives, IBM Europe
• Michael Roberts, Director of Business Environment, Confederation of British Industry
• Charlie Mayfield, Chairman, John Lewis Partnership
• Benet Northcote, Chief Policy Advisor, Greenpeace UK
• Lynda Shillaw, Executive Director, The Co-operative Group
• Pooran Desai, OBE, Co-Founder, BioRegional Development Group
• Paul Everitt, CEO, Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders
• Paul Plummer, Director of Planning and Regulation, Network Rail

About the Sustainable Environment Foundation
The built environment is a key source of greenhouse gas emissions. The reduction in or countering of these emissions is vital in our fight against climate change.

The Sustainable Environment Foundation has been established to:

• Improve public awareness of the importance of the built environment in climate change

• Promote behavioural changes that will benefit the environment

• Establish and promote educational programmes to increase awareness of these issues in schools, colleges and universities

• Promote research into the role played by the built environment in the causes of climate change, resource depletion and the abuse of the natural world

• Promote research into and the development of technologies and products to further these objectives

• Provide a forum for representatives from politics, academia, finance, commerce and industry to develop joined up thinking and the implementation of practical action in the furtherance of these objectives

For further information, please contact FD Tamesis:
Seán Galvin, 020 7269 7133 sean.galvin@fd.com
Nicole Daigle, 020 7269 7237 nicole.daigle@fdtamesis.com
Sorrel Comley, 020 7269 7165 sorrel.comley@fdtamesis.com