We are always fans of Ecoist’s ambitious work in the Balkans, and this civil organization’s advocacy in Belgrade and beyond deserves mention once again. Ecoist wrapped up its work helping to organize the International GreenBuild Conference 2011 in Serbia’s capital. The 170 attendees came from construction, government, diplomatic corps and from the sustainability community. As Jelena Lucic, head of Ecoist said during the conference, the first steps, even simple ones, are positive steps:

“What we wanted to create are active attendees, the ones that are always hungry for knowledge and always question the existing - so we just gave them enough time for discussion after each speaker and discussion worked out perfectly - simplest ways are most often the best ones!”

With 75 percent of Serbia’s buildings built before 1980, a lot of work on retrofits and energy efficiency remains to be done. But the attendees from around the globe showed how such projects can thrive from collaboration and the sharing of ideas.

Southeastern Europe has more going for it than its people realize, and organizations like Ecoist are among the reasons why.

About The Author

Leon Kaye

Leon Kaye is the founder and editor of GreenGoPost.com and its advisory division, GGP Media. Contact him to discuss how he can work with your organization or event. His focus is making the business case for sustainability and corporate social responsibility (CSR). He writes for San Francisco-based Triple Pundit, Inhabitat and now The Guardian, for which he writes about corporate responsibility, water, and green building. He has also written for AIA's Architect Magazine. Leon works out of Fresno and Silicon Valley, California, and when he has free time, he enjoys hiking, gardening, cooking, weightlifting, and planning his next trip to one of the 60 countries he has visited. He has an MBA from USC's Marshall School of Business and is also a proud graduate of the University of Maryland-Baltimore County (UMBC) and Cal State-Fresno.