Well that’s Ecobuild over for another year – my second visit. Having visited for a client and then just for myself, I had hoped to be pleased at how the show was progressing, but I must admit in some ways I was quite disappointed.
I thought I might make something useful out of this feeling of negativity by inviting people to share their thoughts about what might make Ecobuild better. Not what’s got you down, or been difficult, but what would make you happier, make things easier.
Starting with the #nextyearecobuild hashtag, I’ve been curating some thoughts, and would welcome yours (and your comments on those below). Let me know what you think would make Ecobuild better in 2014.
Before
@subutcher have it in the North! we don’t all live in London!! #Ecobuild
— James Butterworth (@StudioJleeds) March 7, 2013
RT @subutcher: What exactly is #egobuild ? @greenroofsuk @robinbrittain @arnoldlaver @eltekcorp #nextyearecobuild >loss of core ‘e’ values
— Robin Brittain (@robinbrittain) March 7, 2013
@subutcher think #egobuild sums it up. If it moves to the NEC will we be able to use the hashtag #nextyearinterbuild instead?
— Malcolm Stamper (@MalcStamp) March 7, 2013
A bit tongue in cheek maybe but why in London? Would it be more efficient to hold it more centrally?
@subutcher fix app inc. map linking stands & seminars, then don’t print guide. Also record content so I don’t miss talks #nextyearecobuild
— Will Ray (@sustainawill) March 7, 2013
I’ve had hellish problems with the app and the website, but one of the reasons for this is that they are in essence copies of the brochure. There needs to be a comprehensive rethink of the online presence for Ecobuild if its going to go online fully, and it should.
Visitors to Ecobuild will all have one concern – how to see as much as they want in the short time they have. A planner needs to facilitate that process, so that you can add events to a diary, plan out your exhibitor visits on a map of the venue. On the way to Ecobuild on the first day, I saw people tweeting their frustration when they realised that the iphone app didn’t have a search engine and their planner, as simple as it was, couldn’t be edited.
Or at least make them compost able! RT @subutcher: How about a moratorium on plastic bags? #nextyearecobuild
— Simon Owen (@CalibreSimon) March 7, 2013
During
Enjoyed @ecobuild_now but didn’t have long enough #nextyearecobuild
— Mark Legg (@CroftonBDM) March 7, 2013
@subutcher Segways, insoles piggybacks? #nextyearecobuild
— Alexander brooks (@Brooksyboy10) March 7, 2013
My feet hurt! Talking of which
@subutcher plumbing & heating together not in separate halls #madness #nextyearecobuild
— fleety72 (@simonfleet) March 7, 2013
The first thing I did at ecobuild again this year was sit down with a coffee and try and work out where everyone was on the map. This time I’d brought highlighter pens, but still felt like I was wasting valuable time marking out where I wanted to go when I should be attending seminars and getting round the stands.
Come to think of it, that wasn’t the first thing. The first thing was to try and find a power supply. I was given a VIP ticket, but even the VIP lounge didn’t have sockets.
Unusual seating at #ecobuild but why no power sockets? #nextyearecobuild flic.kr/p/e14kLB
— Su Butcher (@SuButcher) March 6, 2013
@subutcher Wifi zones and power sockets for re-charging #Ecobuild #nextyearecobuild
— Paul Wilkinson (@EEPaul) March 7, 2013
@eepaul @subutcher I’d agree from last year, poor wifi!
— wmdarchitecture (@wmdarchitecture) March 7, 2013
Why would an organisation like UBM pay for free wifi for visitors?
Because everyone who visits Ecobuild with a smartphone or a laptop is an instant publicity machine.
A forward thinking event like this should be using geo-location to help people find each other more efficiently, not make us resort to highlighter pens, hunt round for power and complain because there is no signal.
“What would make #Ecobuild Better? #nextyearecobuild” << Click to tweet this
Presentations
There were dozens of presentations at Ecobuild, ranging from the full conference events such as the announcements of the Secretary of State, down to bitesize talks in the RIBA village. It is impossible to see them all, but it could be much easier to find the ones you’re interested in viewing.
One of the speakers confessed to me that he’d tried to find his own talk on the Ecobuild website, so he could share the information on twitter, only to find that his name didn’t appear in search results.
@ecobuild_now screens in the seminar rooms are too small (or tell speakers to use min 24pt text!) #nextyearecobuild #ecobuild
— Su Butcher (@SuButcher) March 6, 2013
@subutcher I’d like to see more about skills needs and development at #ecobuild– the youth of today will be the #ecogurus of tomorrow
— Christine Townley (@Christine_CYT) March 7, 2013
@subutcher @christine_cyt – agree. Old fashioned selling & telling type model. Lots of little ‘unconferences’ where ppl choose topics.
— Pritesh Patel (@priteshpatel9) March 7, 2013
Hi @subutcher #nextyearecobuild – ceilings or baffling over seminar rooms please!Good for speakers+delegates! I agree with other suggestions
— Sofie Pelsmakers (@SofiePelsmakers) March 7, 2013
#Ecobuild Two speakers on the same stand, with radio mics, within 10 m giving different presentations flic.kr/p/dZSTUU
— Su Butcher (@SuButcher) March 5, 2013
@subutcher #nextyearecobuild should have a showcase of ‘sustainable’ projects and more seminars. Less literature to hand out.
— Vinesh Pomal (@vineshpomal) March 7, 2013
But then, the exhibitors pay for the seminars, don’t they?
@subutcher #nextyearecobuild greater student involvement as exhibitors. Would be a great learning experience for student groups!
— Ann Vanner (@annvanner) March 8, 2013
More interaction online as well as offline
@eltekcorp @subutcher Been Tweeting for 3 days solid now & posting pics to Flickr, Pinterest & Facebook… Remotely though…
— Arnold Laver (@ArnoldLaver) March 7, 2013
@subutcher @eltekcorp Need show debrief to ascertain effectiveness, but satisfied with exposure & “buzz” as result of exhibiting.
— Arnold Laver (@ArnoldLaver) March 7, 2013
I attended a series of seminars about Responsible Sourcing of Materials. One of the speakers was from the BRE and introduced to me BSE6001, pointing out that it was under consultation at the moment. Given the heated discussion about what standards should be I asked for information about the consultation and the next day got a reply back via twitter.
@subutcher Answer to your Q about how to engage with BES6001 update: read here then follow link to survey site
— BRE group (@BREWatford) March 7, 2013
There should be more of this useful type of interaction, and it could be encouraged by making twitter handles an intrinsic part of the communications strategy.
Exhibitors and Products
@subutcher #nextyearecobuild be more strict on the ‘eco credentials’ of some of the exhibitors / products on show
— RCI Magazine (@RCIMag) March 7, 2013
@subutcher more product for me Su. Interested in seeing construction details, not corporate messages why they’re ‘green’ #nextyearsecobuild
— Ieuan (@welshboy69) March 7, 2013
@andrewdkinsey got any ideas for what those credentials should be? #nextyearecobuild
— Su Butcher (@SuButcher) March 7, 2013
@subutcher Ah well, if I knew that I wouldn’t be sitting here doing this 😉 #nextyearecobuild Keep up the good work; enjoying this thread
— Melanie Thompson (@Get_Sust) March 7, 2013
@subutcherPerhaps by consensus via an expert panel (this was suggested before by my colleague) #nextyearecobuild
— Andrew Kinsey (@AndrewDKinsey) March 7, 2013
I think @londonmasonry that’s a job for @c_a_b1
— Su Butcher (@SuButcher) March 7, 2013
#nextyearecobuild Highly unlikely, in current climate, that organisers would turn away business from prospects that weren’t deemed truly eco
— Benedikte Ranum (@ESIBuilding) March 8, 2013
#nextyearecobuild More realistic: an alternative, smaller event with independent, sustainable UK businesses, in a less expensive venue?
— Benedikte Ranum (@ESIBuilding) March 8, 2013
#nextyearecobuild Also: some exhibitors may not be truly sustainable, but the event provides tonnes of free, useful seminars & talks etc…
— Benedikte Ranum (@ESIBuilding) March 8, 2013
#nextyearecobuild …would that be achievable in an event that didn’t generate as much business for the organisers? Something to consider.
— Benedikte Ranum (@ESIBuilding) March 8, 2013
@subutcher @eltekcorp #nextyearecobuild This yr seems to have been about having a “draw” on your stand to hook people in – stormtrooper etc.
— Arnold Laver (@ArnoldLaver) March 7, 2013
Other Thoughts
RT @subutcher: What exactly is #egobuild ? @greenroofsuk @robinbrittain @arnoldlaver @eltekcorp #nextyearecobuild >loss of core ‘e’ values
— Robin Brittain (@robinbrittain) March 7, 2013
@subutcher Birmingham NEC more central? Not many small British companies? Is the price for the stands leaving a opportunity?
— FreemanSmith(@freemansmithltd) March 7, 2013
@subutcher How about a fringe event to suit small enterprises/ start ups/ meanwhile spaces. ..etc#nextyearsecobuild
— Boidus.co.uk (@Boidus) March 7, 2013
@subutcher charities like @solaraid could be given more of the left over spaces. Would be good to see more humanitarians #nextyearsecobuild
— Boidus.co.uk (@Boidus) March 7, 2013
Admist the flash + technology at #ecobuild love the excellent social enterprise @solaraid darkroom + stand #CSR twitter.com/fairsnape/stat…
— martin brown (@fairsnape) March 6, 2013
Great piece on the work we are doing helping set up an African market for #solar lights and the role of entrepreneurs ow.ly/ioc6Y
— SolarAid (@SolarAid) March 5, 2013
@cibsewomen @subutcher Maybe random effect of seminar choices, but felt like more women speakers this year, which is good. Is this tracked?
— Kate de Selincourt (@Kate_de) March 8, 2013
@cibsewomen @subutcher though #nextyearecobuild not v good BME representation amongst speakers this year?
— Kate de Selincourt (@Kate_de) March 8, 2013
But its not all bad
Here’s an example:
Why no compost bins, #Ecobuild? Enquiring CAT students want to know! twitter.com/centre_alt_tec…
— Centre for Alt Tech (@centre_alt_tech) March 6, 2013
@ecobuild_now @centre_alt_tech We recycle 86% of our wasteincluding all food waste which goes to our onsite wormery home to 300k+ worms
— ExCeL London (@excellondon) March 6, 2013
@ecobuild_now @centre_alt_tech Here you go. We believe it’s the largest commercial womery in the UK. twitter.com/excellondon/st…
— ExCeL London (@excellondon) March 6, 2013
Over to you
What was your experience of Ecobuild? How do you think Ecobuild 2014 could be better? Let the organisers know in the comments.
There have been some interesting replies to this post on Twitter and Linkedin – here are some examples
And on Linkedin:
Sara Hobbin MBA CMgr MCMI As a regular to #ecobuild, i found that the event had really improved on previous years and while there is a lot of fine tuning to be done, it is heading in the right direction. In regards to involving students, the University of East London on the stand next to us (s855) did a three day interactive build of their vision for a future Canning Town. The feedback to this was amazing and the buzz around their work really good. Such a shame some people missed it although it is a big show to get round. We exhibited and had terrific feedback to not just our stand but the show itself and i think as well as the negatives, what worked well should be recognised for the benefit of future shows.
Andrew Mulroy Ecobuild would have been better if the first row of attendants at the exit hadn’t collected the lanyards and then thrown them in the general waste bins. Slightly annoyed at having to fight with them before fishing the lanyards out myself to give to the second row of attendants who where wondering where all the lanyards had gone. Apparently row one were really pleased to be able to recycle your card name badge. Someone obviously didn’t understand the briefing. Experience improved by smuggling in own food supplies. Next year a small camping stove, a tin of Illy and a mocha machine
Sofie Pelsmakers has written a blog post about Ecobuild from her perspective.
“EcoBuild has grown not only to be a trade fair, but hosts hundreds of seminars and talks and events. The choice of so many seminars is bewildering at times and it would be great if EcoBuild were to record each seminar so we can catch up on those we couldn’t attend. (On this note, ceilings or acoustic baffles in the seminar rooms would be gratefully received by both speakers and delegates!)”
Pritesh Patel of Pauley Creative has written about attending Ecobuild virtually by watching what happens on twitter.
Hello Su,
I used to go with Mel Starrs in the Ecobuild early years and every year after. This was my first time without her of course, we both thought it had become increasingly “corporate”, marginalising the little guy.
Nevertheless I actually enjoyed the glamour of it all this year and I understand how that can inspire younger less “seasoned” visitors.
http://carbonsaveruk.com/ecobuild-corporate-greed-sparkle/
My idea then would be for Ecobuild sponsors to give over a large, central glitzy stand as a sort of “Dragons Den” theme stand which could accommodate a series of smaller pop up stands for innovators and inventors trying to get a new product off the ground over the course of the event at an entry level price (or free?). Each exhibitor could have maybe a presentation or a time slot? (Duncan Bannatyne optional). It would put innovators and egalitarianism centre stage and any sponsors would surely benefit from that?
Agreed with all of the above too!
Best of luck with your meeting with UBM Su, you’re a star.
Janet
Update:
Ecobuild have created a page on their website where you can submit ideas for next years show (and vote for other ideas too)
They say:
I’ll be meeting with them soon to talk about some of the ones that came out of our discussions on twitter, but I’d also encourage you to get in touch with their page and join in, not least to donate some extra trees!
The link to their comments page is:
http://www.ecobuild.co.uk/news-social/your-ideas.html