IBPSA Nordic

About

IBPSA-Nordic – The Nordic regional affiliate of the IBPSA-World

Established 26.8.2011

BY-LAWS (in force 05.08.2025. English translation, Finnish official version here)

1. PURPOSE

The name of the association is IBPSA-Nordic ry and its location is Espoo.

IBPSA-Nordic is a regional association of the International Building Performance Simulation Association (IBPSA) (www.ibpsa.org), operating in seven countries: Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden, Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia. IBPSA-Nordic is affiliated to IBPSA-World, but operates as an independent organisation.

IBPSA-Nordic is established to advance the science and practice of building performance simulation and to improve the energy, environmental and economic performance of buildings and their systems in seven countries. IBPSA-Nordic provides a forum for the exchange of information and coordination between researchers, designers, developers and practitioners on building performance simulation and related issues in seven countries.

IBPSA-Nordic aims to achieve its objectives in each country and at the regional level through various activities (e.g. meetings, seminars, workshops, publications, training programmes, education, coordinated activities with other national and regional associations, organisation of a regional technical event every two years). IBPSA-Nordic has a website (www.ibpsa-nordic.org) and an e-mail list. The website serves as the main portal to the member association.

IBPSA-Nordic is a non-profit organisation.

2. GEOGRAPHICAL AREA AND LANGUAGE OF OPERATION

  • IBPSA-Nordic, hereinafter referred to as “the Association”, covers the seven countries (Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden, Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia) mentioned in this document.
  • The language of the association is English. This does not necessarily apply to local activities in each country, where other languages may also be chosen.

3. ORGANISATION

Board of Directors

  • The Association operates as a network of volunteers and is governed by an elected Executive Committee, referred to in this document as the Board.
  • The Board shall consist of at least a President, a Vice-President and a Secretary, and shall be completed by other members of the Board.
  • The Board shall be composed of a maximum of 21 members, of whom no more than three may represent any one country. A member of the Board of Directors must (on request) be able to prove that he/she is active in the field of building simulation and must be resident in one of the countries of the Association’s area of activity.
  • The term of office of all Board members is two years, renewable several times in accordance with the election procedure.
  • The Board shall administer and decide on the policies, procedures and finances of the Association.
  • The Board meets at least once a calendar year (between October and December) under the chairmanship of the President to discuss and decide on the affairs of the Association, including financial report. The meeting may also be held by telephone.
  • The chairman, vice-chairman and treasurer of the board, alone or jointly with others, have the right to sign.

Tasks

  • The President is actively involved in the implementation of the organisation’s tasks and acts as the representative of the Board.
  • The Vice-president shall act in the absence of the President.
  • The Secretary shall assist and inform the members and the Board in the implementation of their work programmes and in the coordination and progress of the organisation’s activities.
  • The members of the Board represent IBPSA-Nordic in their respective countries. They act as liaison officers for the coordination of activities in their respective countries.
  • The Board of Directors has the sole authority to decide on the allocation and use of funds.

Decision-making

  • At Board meetings, a simple majority of Board members constitutes a quorum.
  • The Board strives to reach decisions by consensus. If this is not possible, decisions are taken by a simple majority of the members present.
  • In the event of a tie, the chairman shall take the decision.

Election procedure for the Board of Directors

  • The Secretary shall conduct the election procedure for new Board members.
  • The Secretary shall invite all IBPSA-Nordic members to propose new Board members by e-mail sufficiently in advance of the end of the Board term.
  • The names of the nominated candidates will be drawn up by the Board. The names of the candidates will be divided into seven lists according to the country in which the candidates reside.
  • The names of the candidates will be sent by e-mail to all members for voting.
  • Each member, including corporate members, has one vote.
  • A member can vote for one candidate from any list and from any country.
  • The new board will be composed of the three candidates from each list with the highest number of votes. In the event of a tie, a draw of lots will determine the tie.
  • The appointment of new Board members must be completed before the start of the new term of office.
  • The new Board shall elect from among its members a President, a Vice-president and a Secretary for a two-year term of office, which may be renewed for a number of terms of office in accordance with the election procedure.

4. IBPSA-NORDIC MEMBERSHIP

Membership is open to applicants from all over the world. There are three types of membership: ordinary membership, corporate membership and special corporate membership. The Board of Directors maintains a list of members of the Association.

Ordinary membership
Individual membership: any person interested in building modelling can become a member of IBPSA-Nordic. Building modelling does not have to be a person’s only profession to become a member. Membership is free of charge.

Corporate membership
Any legal person or organisation (companies, universities, public authorities, associations, etc.) interested in building simulation can become a regular member of IBPSA-Nordic. Membership is free of charge.

Special corporate membership
Special corporate members are entitled to place their organisation’s logo on the IBPSA-Nordic website with a link to the organisation’s own website. The Special Corporate Member will receive a free copy of the minutes of the biennial Regional Technical Meeting. The Special Corporate Member will be charged an annual membership fee, the amount of which will be decided by the Board of Directors.

All members of the association

  • Receive notifications of upcoming events and new services.
  • Receive membership of IBPSA-World and access to the electronic version of IBPSA newsletters.
  • The right to nominate and participate in the election of board members.

Membership joining, resignation and expulsion are decided by the Board of Directors. Any member wishing to withdraw from membership may do so by notifying the Secretary.

5. GENERAL MEETINGS OF THE MEMBERSHIP

  • Meetings, called General Meetings, shall be held at the end of each calendar year between October and November and shall be chaired by the President.
  • All members shall be notified of the meeting by e-mail at least one month before the meeting, stating the time and place of the meeting.
  • The purpose of the General Assembly is:
    • to discuss and approve the general policy,
    • to vote on the matters notified,
    • elect the members of the Board of Directors,
    • decide on the adoption of the annual accounts and the granting of discharge,
    • elect an auditor and an alternate auditor for a two-year term of office, which may be renewable,
    • to discuss the activities of the past year and plans for the coming year, the finances and other matters of relevance to IBPSA-Nordic.
    • to review and approve/reject the financial statements and budget for the previous financial year as presented by the Board of Directors, without the right to direct or change individual financial decisions.
  • If the General Assembly does not approve the budget, the Board must take action either by revising the budget or by drawing up an interim budget and then calling an extraordinary General Assembly for its approval.
  • If the budget still cannot be adopted, the discharge of the members of the Board of Directors will be confirmed at the regular meeting and new elections to the Board of Directors will have to be held.
  • All amendments to the rules must be approved by a simple majority of those present at the General Assembly.

6. FINANCE

  • The financial year of IBPSA-Nordic is the calendar year.
  • The euro shall be used as the currency unit in the calculations.
  • The auditor acts as the auditor of accounts and operations, manages the financial affairs of the organisation and ensures that all activities comply with the principles and rules of the association.
  • The auditor presents an audited report of the previous year’s financial results and the following year’s budget to the Board of Directors for approval by the General Assembly.
  • The deputy auditor shall perform the duties of the auditor in his/her absence.
  • The annual financial reports submitted to the Board of Directors are audited by the Auditor or Deputy Auditor. The auditor’s reports are available for inspection by interested members at General Assemblies.
  • The Board of Directors is authorised to allocate the funds of the Association to activities, projects or measures that are consistent with the purposes and objectives of the Association. The allocation of funds shall be carried out in a manner that ensures the continued financial stability and sustainability of the Association.

7. BIENNIAL TECHNICAL REGIONAL EVENT

  • IBPSA-Nordic will organise a biennial technical regional event on building simulation.
  • These events are held in even-numbered years, alternating with the IBPSA International Conferences, which are held in odd-numbered years.

8. WORK FOR OTHERS

The Board may delegate work under its authority and within the scope of its interests to other organisations, in each case for a fee to be mutually agreed.

9. DISSOLUTION

Proposals for dissolution must be submitted to the Board in the name of more than half of the IBPSA-Nordic membership. The Board shall then convene an Extraordinary General Assembly.
Dissolution requires a majority of at least three quarters of the voting members present. The Board decides on the principles of dissolution. In this case, the assets of IBPSA-Nordic will be transferred to IBPSA-World.

10. REGISTRATION

The domicile of the association is Espoo, Finland. IBPSA-Nordic is a registered association with the Finnish Patent and Registration Office. All legal aspects of IBPSA-Nordic’s activities are governed by the laws of the country of its domicile.
The association is directly regulated by the Finnish Associations Act.