• Experts discuss the demands for more sustainability in urban development and real estate business at EXPO REAL from 8 to 10 October
• What does this demand signify for project developments investors? What costs will they have to bear, and how profitable will real estate investments be then?

EXPO REAL 2007 is opening at 10:30 a.m. on 8 October 2007 with the current industry topic "Sustainability and Investments – Burden or New Chance for the Real Estate Industry?". Dr. Engelbert Lütke Daltrup, Undersecretary in the Federal Ministry for Transport, Construction and Urban Development, together with renowned companies of the real estate business such as aurelis Real Estate Eschborn (Dieter Ullsperger, management spokesperson) and ING Real Estate Den Haag (Wil van der Have, General Manager, Board Member of ING Real Estate Development) will discuss issues such as how urban development and the real estate business can contribute to reducing climate-damaging CO2 emissions and fulfill the demands for more sustainability overall. It will also be a question of the economically decisive issue of who should pay it and how?

Hardly anyone doubts the necessity of generally rethinking matters if the emerging climate change should is to be stopped. The real estate business must confront this necessity, because buildings in cities alone are responsible for 40 to 50 percent of the harmful greenhouse gases. The requirements, which result for the industry, are multifaceted. On one hand, there is the demand for substantially reduced CO2 emissions and more sustainability of not just current project developments, but even more pressing is the question of what should be done with existing buildings. Will renters be difficult to find for these properties, and what does that mean for the profitability of the buildings and the investments? What exactly is a "green building"? Does it suffice to keep energy consumption as low as possible or does sustainability require more? What standards exist, which enable benchmarking? And what additional costs in new developments or modernizations will institutional and private investors have to bear?

These and additional issues will be the focus of the conference program in the EXPO REAL FORUM on the first trade fair day. The reason for this is that hardly any other topic has such far-reaching consequences for the real estate industry as the demand for more sustainability. Numerous examples prove the fact that sustainability is feasible and financially possible, which also demonstrate that profitability, range of functions and aesthetics can all be given their due. Such an international example is the New York Hearst headquarters, which star architect Lord Norman Foster designed. It was built 90 percent using recycled steel and with an environment-friendly plant watering system. In Shanghai, China, the German urban planner and architect Professor Albert Speer successfully created buildings such as the Administration Center of the Zhang Jiang Hi-Tech Park and districts such as the International Automobile City. Professor Albert Speer will be a guest at EXPO REAL in the discussion "Sustainability in Urban Development" at 4:30 p.m. on Monday, 10 October 2007.


About EXPO REAL
EXPO REAL, 10th International Trade Fair for Commercial Real Estate, will take place on the grounds of the New Munich Trade Fair Centre from 8 to 10 October 2007. The event is the trade fair for networking for industry- and country-overlapping real estate projects, investments and financing. It reflects the complete range of the real estate business and provides an international networking platform for the important markets from Europe to Russia, the Middle East and all the way to the USA. The comprehensive conference program with approximately 400 speakers provides a solid overview of current trends and innovations in the real estate, investment and financing markets. EXPO REAL 2006 recorded 1,638 exhibitors from 40 countries and 21,112 visitors from 65 countries. Statistics for EXPO REAL are checked by an independent auditor contracted by the Gesellschaft zur Freiwilligen Kontrolle von Messe- und Ausstellungszahlen (Society for Voluntary Control of Fair and Exhibition Statistics).

About Messe München International (MMI)
Messe München International (MMI) is one of the world’s leading trade-fair organizations with approximately 40 trade fairs for investment goods, consumer goods and new technologies. More than 30,000 exhibitors from more than 100 countries and over two million visitors from more than 200 countries take part each year in the trade fairs in Munich. In addition, MMI organizes trade fairs in Asia, Russia, the Middle East and South America. With four foreign affiliated companies in Europe and Asia as well as 66 foreign representatives covering 89 countries, MMI has a global network.


Contact person for the press
Petra Gagel
Telephone: +49 89 / 9 49-20244, Fax: +49 89 / 9 49-20249 E-mail: petra.gagel@messe-muenchen.de 
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