ASPE, ICC partner to host international, green lineup

DES PLAINES, ILL. — Attendees to the 2010 ASPE Convention and Engineered Plumbing Exposition in Philadelphia, Oct. 30-Nov. 3, will have no lack of interesting, informative, and invigorating educational sessions from which to choose, thanks to ASPE’s partnership with the International Code Council and the World Toilet Organization. The Society is presenting a special track on international topics, perfect for those attendees who want to expand their career horizons or learn how their peers around the world are solving plumbing problem, such as protecting the world’s water supply, sustainable approaches to irrigation, and innovations in toilet design.

ASPE’s Green Systems track will feature sessions on the new ICC and IAPMO green codes, green opportunities in medical gases, graywater systems, and solar engineering. All of the technical sessions, however, will include information on sustainability, such as how to make pumping and hot water recirculation systems more energy efficient, how to optimize green standards in high-rise plumbing design, and how to harvest fats, oils and greases for the greatest return as feedstock for innovative new energy-conversion processes.

After nearly a decade of hosting its annual World Toilet Summit (WTS) mainly in Asia, the World Toilet Organization (WTO) has instead opted to hold it in the U.S. for the first time during this year’s ASPE Convention.

This joint ASPE and ICC WTS conference came about as a result of the International Code Council’s strong relationships with both ASPE and the WTO. For the past several years, the WTO and the ICC’s Plumbing, Mechanical & Fuel Gas (PMG) Group have been partnering on various initiatives in an effort to help improve sanitation conditions worldwide. The Code Council also recently signed an MOU with ASPE that focuses on collaborating on programs that will advance the plumbing industry. Bringing all three of these organizations together to promote plumbing and sanitation innovations and commerce opportunities was a good fit.

“We are pleased to be hosting the first U.S. World Toilet Summit in partnership with the International Code Council that is a result of the culmination of the strong alliance between ASPE, ICC and the WTO,” said ASPE Executive Director Stanley Wolfson. “I and the Society’s 7,000 members are very pleased to welcome all of their international and domestic attendees. We look forward to seeing the coming together of engineers, designers, contractors, architects, manufacturers and all others building professionals to this event that the plumbing industry will undoubtedly be talking about for the next decade.”

The theme of the 2010 ICC WTS is, “2.6 Billion Sanitation Business Opportunities.” Holding both the ASPE and ICC WTS events under one roof will expand the education, networking and overall business opportunities for ASPE, ICC and WTO attendees.

The key tracks the World Toilet Summit will feature are Innovations in Global Toilet Design, Bottom of the Pyramid Market (1.8 billion of the 2.6 billion people without proper sanitation who have purchasing power) and Micro Financing, Advocacy and Potty Parity, and the Cleaning and Personal Care Market. This conference will reveal how to capitalize on these huge markets while helping to solve the sanitation crisis at the same time. The ICC-focused tracks are Green Codes & Standards, which both round out the WTS’s sanitation topics and complement ASPE’s tracks.

“We are so fortunate to have the right partners for the 2010 World Toilet Summit,” said Jack Sim, founder of the World Toilet Organization. “ASPE and the ICC are such respected and highly professional organizations that are also devoted to helping to improve sanitation conditions around the world. Partnering with them to present this important event to U.S. businesses is very exciting.”

“We are so proud to be part of this initiative,” stated Jay Peters, ICC PMG Group executive director. “The attendees and other participants of this powerful conference will benefit tremendously from the expanded and richer conference and expo offerings, as well as invaluable networking opportunities for future business ventures that wouldn’t otherwise be available to them. It will be outstanding for our organizations, the entire plumbing industry and the businesses that serve them. But, most importantly, it will undoubtedly go a long way in helping those in need of proper sanitation worldwide.”

This strategy intends to engage large corporations by demonstrating the staggering size and profit potential the sanitation market in the developing world offers. The global sanitation crisis affects 2.6 billion people who still do not have access to proper sanitation. Diarrhea alone claims two million lives every year. Unfortunately, most of these victims are children. The sheer volume of demand for sanitation-related products is mindboggling and the purchasing power and high return on investment has been proven.

Aside from reaching business decision makers, another objective of bringing the WTS to the U.S. is to dramatically heighten awareness of the global sanitation crisis among U.S. policymakers, organizations, and the general public in order to continue to grow support for this cause, both short- and long-term.

The 2010 ASPE Convention offers a wide variety of educational sessions for the seasoned veteran as well as the up-and-coming engineer. The Advanced and Emerging Technologies will include sessions on globalization in construction, radiant cooling, roof drain technology, life-cycle assessment, and hydronic systems, plus innovations in the plumbing and HVAC industries. The Practical Engineering track will provide sessions on the Philadelphia single stack, booster pump sizing, variable-speed fire pumps, special hazard fire protection design, and vacuum systems.

All technical sessions provide CEUs, and the full educational program can total more than seven hours of continuing education for recertification purposes.

Additional information is available at aspe.org/2010ConventionAndEPE. Additional information about the ICC World Toilet Summit 2010 at the ASPE Convention is also available at www.iccsafe.org/iccwts.