World Green Infrastructure Congress 2023

World Green Infrastructure Congress 2023

The World Green Infrastructure Congress (WGIC), took place 27-29 June, 2023 in Berlin & online. 

After six years, the World Green Infrastructure Congress 2023 (WGIC) was held in Berlin & online from 27 to 29 June 2023! The last World Congress, also held in Berlin, was fully booked, with over 800 participants from 44 countries. To follow up on the successful event in 2017, this years congress was available in person and online to provide various opportunities to participate.

This multi-day event was aimed at planners, contractors, local-, state- and federal politicians, investors and companies in the sector, concerning the greening of buildings (greening of roofs, façades and indoor areas) with the associated accompanying topics (e. g. urban climate, rainwater management, sustainability). 
 
During day one and two, there were presentations by more than 100 speakers from 29 countries, dealing with various topics around green infrastructure on a global level.

On day three, it was possible to participate in field excursions in the city of Berlin. Please see images below.

The congress offered:

      • More than 100 speakers from different countries

      • More than 40 exhibitors at the accompanying exhibition

      • More than 20 cooperation partners

      • Knowledge transfer of greening of buildings (greening of roofs, façades and indoor areas)

      • Showing of best practice examples Transfer of knowledge by industry experts from Germany and abroad in parallel series of lectures and discussion rounds

      • Networking. Meeting point. Addressing new target groups

      • Interdisciplinary exchange of experience between city representatives, architects, city planners, urban water developers, industrial and property representatives, manufacturers, processors, researchers, associations, politicians and other interested parties.

    Take a look at the trailer for WGIC 2023.

    View the full program here.
    View the event flyer here.

    Sponsors and congress partners: The event is presented by Bundesverband GebäudeGrün e.V. (BuGG), supported by international and national partners, as well as 23 congress and 10 media partners.

    For more information, please consult our website: www.bugg-congress2023.com

    …………………………………………………….

    World Green Infrastructure Congress 2023

    Date: 27. – 29. June 2023

    Venue: MERCURE HOTEL MOA BERLIN, Stephanstrasse 41, 10559 Berlin Moabit, Germany
    Front desk: +49 30 394043 – 0
    www.hotel-moa-berlin.de

    WGIN presented the 2023 Global Awards for best green infrastructure practice at the World Green Infrastructure Congress 2023! View the winners here.

    Some speakers of WGIC 2023

    Rebecca Gohlke (MSc) shares a report on Urban Dialogue Building Green Municipal Funding Instruments.

    Dr. Marta Weber-Siwirska reflects on the challenges and possibilities of implementing green solutions in Polish cities.

    Paolo Russo shares highlights of his study titled “From Green obsession to vertical forests”.

    Professor Helga Fassbinder talks about Biotope City. The dense city as nature: the case of Wienerberg, Vienna

    Chintan Raveshia takes us through Singapore’s journey from a Garden City to a City in Nature.

    Dr. Eugenia Lin took us on a journey to Taiwan, sharing the exciting and impressive green roof projects of Taiwan.

     Dominik Gooner (M.Eng) discusses modern stormwater management of urban quarters captioned Blue-Green and Smart.

    Prof. Nicholas Williams, University of Melbourne, shares a study of quantifying the local benefits of green roofs & provides the evidence base for planning and policy changes in Melbourne.

    Mathias Johr shares the technical intricacies of rainwater management on green roofs and barrier-free roof terraces.

    WGIN EU Chapter’s Antonin Chapelot gives an overview of EU policies on urban greening targets.

    Green Infrastructure Tour of Berlin:

    Follow us on our social channels.

    Follow us on the channel that best suits you to receive our latest updates!

    NEW

    LATEST POSTS

    European Green Infrastructure Day 2025

    European Green Infrastructure Day (EGIDay) is the Brussels based policy conference dedicated to exchange views on the state of affairs of urban green infrastructure in the EU and how to unlock their multiple benefits, for citizens, businesses and the environment. The fourth edition of the EGIDay took place on the 24th of April 2025. The event gathered in person EU policymakers, urban green infrastructure experts, local authorities and NGOs to discuss how to turn European cities from grey to green, contributing to climate adaptation and water resilience of Europe’s urban areas.  Speakers: Moderated by Luigi Petito, Head of European Chapter Secretariat, World Green Infrastructure Network Humberto Delgado Rosa, Director for Biodiversity, DG Environment Jutta Paulus, Member of the European Parliament, Group of the Greens/EFA Emily Bankert, Researcher, Buildings Performance Institute Europe Sirpa Pietikäinen, Member of the European Parliament, Group of the European People’s Party Jure Šumi, President of Management Committee & Member of Advisory Board, World Green Infrastructure Network Read the event report Take a look at the photos Download the full programme

    PIISA Green Roofs Pilot

      PIISA (Piloting Innovation Insurance Solutions for Adaptation) is a Horizon Europe project that brings together 12 organization’s from 5 European countries, and is co-developing climate resilient insurance portfolios. The project consists of several pilots, including one that aims to provide cost-benefit analyses of green roofs as a climate change adaptation option in the main pilot location in the Netherlands. The effectiveness of insurance solutions to stimulate the adoption of green roofs are being tested in this pilot as well, e.g. information provision and insurance premium discounts. Various enablers and barriers of the uptake of green roofs are being examined as well. Based on this work, public-private partnerships will be identified to investigate sustainable finance arrangements that stimulate investments in green roofs. Business models for the Europe insurance industry will also be developed for the upscaling of nature-based solutions for climate risk. Using expert interviews and workshops it is also being examined how the results for the Netherlands are transferable to other pilot regions, i.e. the Boreal and Mediterranean, using qualitative analysis.   Insurers, e.g. Interpolis, have been involved in the co-creation process for the research in the pilot. Furthermore, (potential) policy holders have been involved in the research process through economic experiments within which the (biodiversity, flood risk reduction, etc.) values of green roofs and the effectiveness of insurance solutions to stimulate the adoption of green roofs have been tested. Insurers, municipalities, water authorities and real estate institutions are being involved in the identification and development of public-private partnerships of sustainable finance arrangements for investments in green roofs. City policymakers and insurers are being interviewed and included in workshops in the Netherlands, and the Boreal and Mediterranean regions to examine how costs and benefits of green roofs differ, and whether additional barriers and enablers should be considered in the scaling up of green roofs as an insurance solution. Partners involved: Institute for Environmental Studies (IVM), Vrije Universiteit (VU) Amsterdam(Lead) Climate Adaptation Services (CAS) Finnish Meteorological Institute(FMI) Tyrsky Consulting Politecnicodi Milano (Polimi) For more information visit: https://piisa-project.eu/pilot1

     iCARI launches RE-URBANEX

    WGIN member iCARI kick-starts RE-URBANEX, a large-scale, EU-based public-private research project focused on long-term climate adaptation of built-up areas and building stock renewal. The current project evaluation exceeds €1.5 million and continues to grow, supported by a major PPP grant from STRABAG – one of Europe’s leading construction companies. Coordinated by iCARI and located on a 19,000 m² campus in Brno (Czech Republic), the project combines advanced data science, interdisciplinary collaboration, and high-frequency environmental monitoring. The aim is to test and verify real-world adaptation strategies: vegetation-based cooling, rainwater management, albedo optimization, indoor and outdoor air quality, and emission reduction. CzechGlobe, a top-tier climate change institute of the Czech Academy of Sciences, provides the project’s scientific backbone. Within the RE-URBANEX project, we explore a broad range of climate adaptation solutions and interactions, including green, blue, and grey infrastructure, the impact of urban heat islands, primary energy sources, BioSolar systems (combining greenery and photovoltaics), excess energy storage (including in the form of ice produced from harvested rainwater), indoor environmental quality, air quality, architectural and design strategies, and other innovative components. A dedicated part of the research also focuses on communicating results with an emphasis on practical application. RE-URBANEX is a living lab for cities, researchers, and companies ready to co-create tested, scalable solutions for climate resilience – backed by 15-minute interval measurements, running 7/24/365 over three years. The platform aims to expose and replace ineffective greenwashing with transparent and verifiable results. Timeline: October 2024 – December 2027 Key Deliverables: Climate-Sustainable Campus Plan Adaptation Handbook for Building Renewal Policy Recommendations for Municipalities & States Evidence-Based ESG Report for Public Institutions Guidelines for PPP Design and EU Funding Alignment Educational and Participatory Outputs Call for Technology Partners: If you develop innovative technologies for climate adaptation in urban environments and want to test them under real operational conditions – backed by detailed data and expert evaluation – RE-URBANEX offers a unique opportunity to become part of one of Europe’s most relevant adaptation projects. More information: www.icari.eu/reurbanex