GTZ Forum 2026 is returning to New York City on October 5–6, bringing together 300+ leaders shaping the future of high-performance buildings. We’re now accepting proposals for breakout sessions and poster presentations across three tracks: Building Codes & Policy, Grid Interactivity & Energy Resilience, and Emerging Technology & Market Solutions. Share your case studies, pilots, lessons learned, hard-won victories, and the latest real-world solutions with peers across the built environment sector.
How to submit:
- Review the submission guide.
- When you are ready to submit, you can do so using our submission platform.
- You can make changes to your drafted submission until the May 20, 2026, deadline.
Proposals will be reviewed by a group of independent program advisors. Submitters can expect to be notified of the status of their proposals in mid-June 2026.
Questions? Contact us at gettingtozeroforum@newbuildings.org.
Session Types
The Forum will include two types of sessions, 75-minute breakout sessions and poster presentations. You can opt in to combine your proposal with one or more other proposals to create a new breakout session, or you can choose to maintain your original, independent submission.
Poster Presentation (during The Discovery Hour reception, Monday, October 5)
Posters will be displayed during The Discovery Hour reception (Monday, October 5), where presenters will have the opportunity to engage directly with Forum attendees. Poster presenters are expected to be present at their poster for the duration of the reception to discuss their work, respond to questions, and exchange insights with peers. Posters should communicate a clear project, case study, pilot, new technology, or research finding aligned with one of the Forum’s three tracks: Building Codes & Policy, Grid Interactivity & Energy Resilience, and Emerging Technology & Market Solutions.
Over the course of the reception, attendees will vote on the poster they find most compelling. The presenter of the winning poster will be invited to share their work with the full Forum audience during the closing session on Tuesday, October 6.
75-minute Breakout Session (Tuesday, October 6 only)
Breakout sessions form the core of programming on Tuesday, October 6. Three concurrent sessions will run in each of three time blocks over the course of the day, with each block featuring one session per track: Building Codes & Policy; Grid Interactivity & Energy Resilience; and Emerging Technology & Market Solutions.
Each breakout session is 75 minutes long and is intended to facilitate substantive peer-to-peer learning among a diverse audience of utilities, regulators, state and local jurisdictions, manufacturers, building owners and developers, service professionals, and representatives of NGOs and community-based organizations. Sessions should advance the Forum’s broader objectives of surfacing effective policy, scalable technology, and market solutions that improve the affordability, resilience, and efficiency of high-performance buildings.
Proposals may take a range of formats, including panel discussions, moderated dialogues, or interactive working sessions. Regardless of format, sessions are expected to feature multiple perspectives, ground their content in real-world experience, and incorporate meaningful opportunities for audience engagement and discussion. Proposals built around a single-presenter lecture format are discouraged.
Tracks & Topics
We invite presentation proposals to GTZ Forum that include multiple perspectives, facilitate meaningful conversations, expand our collective knowledge, and drive the market toward the advancement of high-performance buildings, policies, and programs. We encourage your innovative, cross-sector, and emerging topic proposals.
Forum sessions will be categorized into one of three tracks: Building Codes & Policy, Grid Interactivity & Energy Resilience, and Emerging Technology & Market Solutions. Please select the track where your proposal fits best. The Forum topics list is intended as examples to guide you in preparing your proposal. This is not a comprehensive list of presentation topics, nor an indication of which proposals NBI will select.
Building Codes & Policy
How can building codes and policies make new and existing buildings more affordable to construct and maintain, and how do we quantify the non-energy benefits, such as resilience and health? We invite submissions on:
- Building and energy code implementation
- Building performance standards
- Permitting and zoning reforms
- Utility regulatory reforms
- Tax abatements
- Innovative financing strategies
Grid Interactivity & Energy Resilience
How do we make all buildings better grid citizens? As electrical demand continues to rise, how do we design buildings and systems to provide grid services, enhance energy resilience, reduce emissions, and support the development of community resilience hubs? We invite submissions on the following:
- Targeted peak demand reduction applications
- Flexible building systems
- Distributed energy generation
- Energy storage
- Microgrids
Emerging Technology & Market Solutions
What are the cutting-edge developments and innovative market solutions for deploying new technologies? How are we shaping the next tech wave to serve communities, the planet, and local economies? We invite submissions on:
- AI applications
- Heat pumps for commercial and multifamily buildings
- Advanced cooling technologies
- Battery integration
- Thermal energy networks