Preparing Now: How Businesses Can Avoid Last Winter's Energy Collapse - UCSC TALKS 2026

Commercial real estate plays a crucial role in the Ukrainian economy, influencing the development of retail, real estate development, construction, logistics, and related sectors. In light of this, the Ukrainian Council of Shopping Centers (UCSC), which serves as the only professional association for the shopping center industry in Ukraine and is integrated into the European professional environment, has announced the launch of a new offline meeting format called UCSC TALKS. This format is designed to discuss current market challenges, bringing together industry participants for open dialogue, aligning approaches, and seeking practical solutions that can be implemented today.

The inaugural UCSC TALKS 2026 conference will focus on issues of energy efficiency and energy independence for businesses. This significant event is scheduled to take place on April 22 in Kyiv, at the innovative space UNIT.City. The conference will bring together representatives from commercial real estate, retail, logistics, and the energy sector, creating a platform for exchanging experiences and ideas.

Participants at the conference will have the opportunity to familiarize themselves with the event program, a list of speakers, and participation conditions on the official conference website. The event will feature two thematic sessions, during which participants will explore a wide range of issues at the intersection of business and energy. Key market players, including the energy company IKNET, Visen Ukraine (the official distributor of LG), Atmosfera, and Ukrgasbank, are among the partners of the event.

The first session of the conference will include a panel discussion titled “Experience of Winter 2025/2026: How Did We Survive the Crisis?” featuring representatives from the development market. This discussion will allow participants to share their experiences and strategies that helped them overcome the challenges of the past winter. Additionally, a public interview is planned with a representative from the top management of one of Ukraine's leading energy companies, Vitaliy Zaychenko, the chairman of the board of NEC Ukrenergo. The interview will be conducted by Igor Orel, editor of the Industry section at Forbes Ukraine.

The second session of the conference will focus on practical experiences in implementing alternative energy solutions, both from the perspectives of developers and retailers, as well as from specialized companies. Participants will have the opportunity to learn about case studies from Lavina Mall, the Epicenter shopping center chain, the NOVUS supermarket chain, and other market participants. Event partners will concentrate on practical issues such as financing energy-efficient projects, the operation of solar power plants and energy storage systems, the advantages of modern engineering solutions, and the integration of energy consumption, generation, and storage.

Registration for the conference is already open, and interested parties can reserve their participation on the official event website. It is important to note that the number of places is limited, so participants are advised not to delay registration. For any questions regarding participation, inquiries can be directed to the email address provided on the website.

This event will be beneficial for a wide range of market participants, including owners and managers of shopping centers, developers, representatives of business centers, hotels, retail, as well as engineering and energy companies seeking practical and economically viable solutions in the field of energy efficiency. In light of the current challenges related to energy security, participation in such a conference can be a crucial step towards ensuring stability and growth for businesses in Ukraine.