RICS Americas to Sponsor NYU's Schack Institute of Real Estate, Center for the Sustainable Built Environment's 1st Annual Conference

NEW YORK, Feb. 1, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- RICS Americas will be one of the sponsors of New York University's Schack Institute of Real Estate, Center for the Sustainable Built Environment's 1st Annual Conference on Sustainable Real Estate. The event would be held at the Kimmel Center, Rosenthal Pavilion, on Tuesday, February 22, 2011 from 8:00 a.m. – 3:45 p.m. The theme is: "Building the Smart City" Removing Barriers, Fostering Innovation.

One of RICS' thought leaders, Scott Muldavin FRICS and Executive Director of the Green Building Finance Consortium, will be a panelist on "Financing the Smart City," and luncheon speaker, John Quigley, a UC Berkeley professor, will present new findings on the financial performance of green office buildings in the U.S., based on a recent study called Sustainability and the Dynamics of Green Buildings that is part of a research cooperation between RICS and the University of Maastricht and UC Berkeley. The sponsorship is tied to RICS' global sustainability strategy –– and its brand-building efforts with a key Real Estate university program.

The Conference on Sustainable Real Estate of the NYU Schack Institute of Real Estate's Center for the Sustainable Built Environment will explore the concept of the "Smart City" as the next stage in the evolution of urban development. The Smart City reflects innovative strategies in the design, development, financing, and management of the built environment, utilizing real-time information and data analysis to improve decision-making and achieve positive social, environmental, and economic outcomes.

The conference will highlight how sustainable innovations in building practices, materials and policies, together with efficient infrastructure and economic incentives, can reduce urban sprawl, limit greenhouse gas emissions, conserve resources, maximize competitiveness, and improve the quality of life in cities.

About the NYU Schack Institute of Real Estate

The NYU Schack Institute of Real Estate (www.scps.nyu.edu/schack) was founded in 1967, at the initiative of prominent real estate leaders who encouraged NYU to establish an academic center that provided an educational foundation for professionals within their industry. Today, NYU Schack is home to graduate degree and related graduate certificate programs—notably the M.S. in Real Estate, the M.S. in Construction Management and the new M.S. in Real Estate Development—which enroll some 700 full- and part-time students from more than 30 countries and have nearly 2,500 alumni degree-holders around the globe. In addition, each year approximately 7,200 working professionals enroll in the Institute's professional certificate programs, noncredit courses, and licensure-related offerings in such areas as real estate finance, sales and brokerage, sustainable design, facilities management, and architecture and civil engineering. The Institute also houses the NYU REIT Center and the Center for the Sustainable Built Environment and hosts key industry events, including annual conferences on Real Estate Capital Markets and REITs. NYU Schack is one of several comprehensive academic divisions within the School of Continuing and Professional Studies (NYU-SCPS), the NYU home for study and applied research related to key knowledge-based industries where the New York region leads globally.

About RICS

RICS www.rics.org is the world's leading qualification when it comes to professional standards in land, property and construction.

In a world where more and more people, governments, banks and commercial organizations demand greater certainty of professional standards and ethics, attaining RICS status is the recognized mark of property professionalism.

Over 100,000 property professionals working in the major established and emerging economies of the world have already recognized the importance of securing RICS status by becoming members.

RICS is an independent professional body originally established in the UK by Royal Charter. Since 1868, RICS has been committed to setting and upholding the highest standards of excellence and integrity – providing impartial, authoritative advice on key issues affecting businesses and society. RICS is a regulator of both its individual members and firms enabling it to maintain the highest standards and providing the basis for unparalleled client confidence in the sector.

SOURCE RICS Americas