Dubai, UAE; June 5, 2013: Emirates Green Building Council (EmiratesGBC), an independent forum aimed at conserving the environment by strengthening and promoting green building practices, will organise its next ‘Focus Day’ on June 10, 2013, putting the spotlight on the performance of green buildings.

High-level government officials and experts from different sectors of the building and construction sector supply chain will share their views on diverse aspects of green buildings during the EmiratesGBC Focus Day discussion to be held from 1 to 5pm at Sheraton Hotel, Mall of the Emirates.

Adnan Sharafi, EmiratesGBC Chairman, said: “The Focus Day activities of EmiratesGBC discuss various concerns and topics that are aimed at strengthening the sustainable built environment. The latest session evaluates diverse aspects of the green building industry, and the tangible goals that have been achieved. It is important to understand and share knowledge on the performance of green buildings to encourage more people to take up energy and water efficient initiatives, as well as to integrate green building principles from the design stage itself. The initiative is a perfect complement to the UAE’s ‘a green economy for sustainable development’ initiative.”

The key topics of discussion include the efficiency of green buildings and exploring the feasibility of a joint industry, government and stakeholder hub for green buildings. Abu Dhabi Urban Planning Council will kick off the Focus Day by discussing the experience of the Emirate’s Estidama sustainability programme, highlighting empirical analysis of Estidama buildings during operation.

A panel discussion, which will include presentations by different industry stakeholders, will present a compelling case for closing the gap between design, construction, operations and maintenance of green buildings. The speakers include representatives of a leading developer, architect & designer, contractor, consultant and facility manager.

A third session will discuss measuring the impact on the environment with case studies of the actual performance of buildings, how green buildings function and what are the steps to be taken to develop measurably better buildings. The session will be followed by an interactive Q&A with the audience.

The EmiratesGBC Focus Day is sponsored by Majid Al Futtaim Properties and The Future Build. The event is open for EmiratesGBC members and non-members, and tickets can be purchased at AED 50 and AED 150, respectively. For more details, call: 04-3468244 or email: events@emiratesgbc.org. Visit www.emiratesgbc.org for more details on the Council and its activities.

EmiratesGBC is currently hosting a membership programme for small and medium businesses in the UAE, to add to its current membership base of over 260 entities representing the entire building and construction industry supply chain.

EmiratesGBC regularly takes part in key conferences and exhibitions to promote sustainable built environments. The Council also hosts a series of initiatives that facilitates industry dialogue and provides educational resources and information on sustainable practices.

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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 / Mohammed Al Tawil

ASDA’A Burson-Marsteller

+9714 4507600

kelly.home@bm.com / mohammed.altawil@bm.com