• Excellence in sustainability will be recognised at a gala event in Dubai
• Seven categories, including three new subcategories to honour best Green Hotel, Green School, and Green Commercial Building
• Registration to attend gala dinner available on EmiratesGBC website

Dubai, UAE; May 7, 2015: Emirates Green Building Council (EmiratesGBC), an independent forum aimed at conserving the environment by strengthening and promoting green building practices, will announce the winners of the 3^rd Annual EGBC Awards on May 13, 2015 at a gala event to be held at Al Murooj Rotana, Dubai.

The awards will be presented in six main categories, including Green Facility Management Organisation of the Year, Green Building Material/Product Award, Green Building System Award, Green Building Research Award, Training Initiative of the Year; and Green Building of the Year. The honour of Green Building of the Year will be presented in three new sub-categories this year including Green Hotel, Green School, and Green Commercial Building.

A special Award for Students, sponsored by EmiratesGBC’s co-founder Dr Sadek Owainati, will also be presented to a university student for exceptional research work on a subject related to green buildings in the Middle East.

Saeed Al Abbar, Chairman of EmiratesGBC, said: “Year on year, there is an increased interest in green building among government, individuals and organisations. EmiratesGBC, as an independent forum that strives to encourage sustainability, created the Annual EGBC Awards to recognise the industry’s commitment to excellence and green practices. This year, we received significant entries from across the Middle East and are looking forward to showcasing the winning entries, which represent the most innovative and outstanding green building projects in the region.”

The Guest of Honour of the Awards ceremony is HE Dr. Thani Ahmed Al-Zayoudi, Director of Energy and Climate Change of Ministry of Foreign Affairs, UAE; who will deliver a keynote speech at the gala event.

The entries are currently being reviewed by an expert panel of judges, including: Professor Bassam Abdel-Karim Abu-Hijleh, Dean and Atkins Chair  Head of the Sustainability MSc & PhD Programmes, Faculty of Engineering and IT, ­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­The British University in Dubai (BUiD); Dr. Ghalib Y. Kahwaji, Professor and Head of the Mechanical Engineering Department, Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT); Dr. Michael Schmidt, Board Member of EmiratesGBC and Head of Development, Construction Chemicals Division at ORA Middle East, West Asia, CIS & Africa, BASF; Mohammad T. Asfour, Board Member of WorldGBC; Dr. Rob Cooke, Board Member of EmiratesGBC and Associate Sustainability Consultant, Buro Happold; Rym Baouendi, Founder & Managing Director, Medina Works; and Sarfraz Dairkee, Secretary of EmiratesGBC Board of Directors and General Manager, Corporate Development & Engineering, M.A.H.Y. Khoory & Co. LLC. KPMG is the Awards Auditor.

Jotun Paints is Platinum sponsor for the event, while BK Gulf, Brookfield Multiplex and Caparol are Silver sponsors.

Registration for the awards gala is available online. The fee for members is AED 350 and for non-members is AED 450. A special rate for a table for 10 is offered for members at AED 3,000 and for non-members at AED 3,500. For registration online, visit https://emiratesgbc.org/awards/2015-awards-home-page/gala-dinner-registration/ and for more details, email: events@emiratesgbc.org.

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Note to Editors

About Emirates Green Building Council:

The Emirates Green Building Council (EmiratesGBC) was founded in June 2006, and became the 8th full member of the World Green Building Council in September 2006. EmiratesGBC is an organization that promotes and educates on green issues in the built environment and is the official body for the UAE endorsed by the World Green Building Council. EmiratesGBC currently has around 260 members in the UAE which represents 1000s of individuals interested and involved in Green Building in the UAE and the region. In addition, EmiratesGBC members receive discounts on a number of programmes such as those related to conferences, seminars, training and green building events.

For further information, please contact:

Kelly Home / Sonia Blanco

ASDA’A Burson-Marsteller

+9714 4507600

kelly.home@bm.com / sonia.blanco@bm.com