EmiratesGBC is pleased to invite its members to attend the 2016 Annual General Meeting. The AGM is an important opportunity for Corporate and Individual Members to learn about the recent progress of the Council and to voice opinions and suggestions on the future direction and activities of EmiratesGBC. The meeting also provides a great opportunity for networking with fellow members. We encourage your participation and look forward to welcoming you on Thursday, December 8th, 2016 at Manzil Downtown Dubai hotel. To register, please click here

For further information or queries please contact: engagement@emiratesgbc.org

From 7-18 November, COP 22 & CMP 12, UN Climate Change Conference 2016 took place in Marrakech, Morocco where nations came together to identify solutions for implementation to limit climate change.  This was a crucial step which follows last year’s historic Paris Agreement.

EmiratesGBC had the opportunity to attend COP 22 and during our time there, we partook in the Global Alliance for Buildings and Construction (Global ABC) Meeting and Workshop.  The Global ABC was created as a result of COP21 in Paris in 2015 which has helped mobilise major global stakeholders to raise awareness on the building sector’s significance to contributing to limiting climate change to less than 2 degrees. The general meeting of the Global ABC members on 9 November had over 60 people in attendance from across the participating parties and focused on the 2017 action plan to address challenges faced by the buildings and construction sector.

WorldGBC has a leading role with the Global ABC, and this naturally trickles down to national GBCs becoming involved; Global ABC consists of a network of 23 countries and 64 non-state organisations – the city of Dubai is also a participant of the Global ABC.

In addition to the Global ABC activities, EmiratesGBC had the chance to highlight its partnerships during COP22, where we presented at the Building Efficiency Accelerator (BEA) Breakfast on November 12^th on the benefits of EmiratesGBC and Dubai Supreme Council of Energy working together to fulfil Dubai’s commitment to the BEA.  EmiratesGBC also actively participated in the WorldGBC MENA Network meeting where WorldGBC and the Global ABC were keen to explore how national GBCs could get involved with the Alliance.  Other activities while at COP22 included a ‘Buildings Day Dialogue on Buildings and Climate’ which included focused discussions on Low-carbon and Affordable buildings as well as Financing the transition to low-carbon buildings.

The ongoing cooperation between Emirates Green Building Council and Dubai Supreme Council of Energy (DSCE) was formalised on 9 November with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU).  The MOU builds on enhancing the existing cooperative relationship and expands the areas of partnership.  Key focal areas of the partnership include sustainable energy demand side management associated with increasing  penetration of green buildings in Dubai; cooperation will focus around energy and water use efficiency, near net-zero energy buildings, green building standards, and energy intensity of buildings.

With DSCE’s leadership role with the City of Dubai’s commitment to the Building Efficiency Accelerator program, an initiative under the United Nations program “Sustainable Energy for All”, EmiratesGBC is collaborating and serving as the program’s City Liaison, working closely with DSCE on its deliverables.  This program aligns with the MOU’s focal areas and provides an excellent opportunity for strengthening attention on Dubai’s building efficiency.  The program has already commenced with stakeholder engagement, and we look forward to sharing the progress of this program in the coming months.

Supported by World Green Building Council (WorldGBC), in partnership with LebanonGBC and JordanGBC and under the review of KPMG, we are proud to launch the 2017 MENA Green Building Awards as part of our efforts to further increase the visibility of best practices and achievements of organisations in the region.

This year we have also increased the number of categories to 15 in order to better reflect the green building scene in the region and approach a broader range of stakeholders that can positively impact the built environment.  Categories include:

Green Building of the Year (including its four sub-categories covering schools, hotels, residential and commercial buildings); Sustainable Design; Contractor of the Year; Developer of the Year; Facility Management Organisation; Green Building Material/Product Award (including its four sub-categories covering energy management, water management, indoor air quality and conventional construction materials); Green Building Research Award; Retrofit Project of the Year; Best Operations and Maintenance (existing buildings).

The submission period is open from 1 December 2016 to 16 February 2017.  Short-listed organisations will be notified by 30, April, 2017 and winners will be announced during the Awards Ceremony and Gala Dinner taking place in Dubai on 17 May 2017.

Do not miss your chance to be part of the sustainability story and showcase your achievements and innovations! For more information please contact EmiratesGBC at awards@emiratesgbc.org. Good luck!

Swedish welding and cutting firm ESAB hosted EmiratesGBC on November 16th, 2016 for a tour of their LEED Platinum Certified Middle East headquarters in Jebel Ali Free zone, United Arab Emirates. Six years after achieving the coveted green building certification, we heard from the ESAB management about their initial drivers for pursuing the lofty goal, the lessons learned, what worked and what the new challenges are for the building. The session included a tour of the multi-functional building as well as a workshop where EmiratesGBC members had the opportunity to recommend next steps to the ESAB team.

Twenty months after achieving LEED Gold certification, the session will explore the lessons learned, what has worked and new challenges for the Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi green building. The tour is open to corporate and individual members only and will take place on  December 6^th from 10am-12pm. Spaces are limited, please email us to register.

The 5^th Annual EmiratesGBC Congress Event Brief is now available on EmiratesGBC’s website: https://emiratesgbc.org/2016congress/.  Take a small trip down memory lane, and find out more about the Congress’s speakers and topics which were brought to the forefront during this flagship event.

As part of an office team building activity, the EmiratesGBC team participated in a 5K Charity Run on Friday, November 25^th, 2016 along the Dubai Creek.  This was a great exercise (literally!) that brought the team together and has re-energised the EmiratesGBC office to keep pushing forward together and making it to the finish line.  “Keeping Buildings RUNning Green”.

The British University in Dubai (BUiD) and Emirates Green Building Council (EGBC) invite you to attend a Course which provides CEA (Certified Energy Auditor) Training from December 6-8^th in Dubai. The CEA certification identifies professionals as having the required knowledge and experience needed to succeed in the growing field of energy auditing. The CEA is an open book exam and questions are a mixture of multiple choice and true/false. A passing score of at least 70% is required. Email us to learn more.

The EmiratesGBC team proudly represented at Big 5 over the exhibition’s four busy days.  Thank you to all of our members, strategic partners and new industry friends who visited our stand to learn more about our upcoming educational activities and technical programs.

EmiratesGBC is inviting members of the green building industry to exhibit with us under the EmiratesGBC Pavilion at the Energy Efficiency Expo, co-located with World Future Energy Summit.  EmiratesGBC is a founding partner of the Energy Efficiency Expo dedicated to promoting energy efficiency across buildings, transportation and manufacturing sectors. The event is hosted by Masdar and is part of Abu Dhabi Sustainability week, taking place from the 16 – 19 January 2017 at Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre.

In order to showcase the green, sustainable and energy-efficient products and solutions for its members, EmiratesGBC is managing a dedicated pavilion at the Energy Efficiency Expo. EmiratesGBC corporate members exhibiting within the pavilion are eligible for special rates and benefits and will have access to around 30,000 plus visitors including Government Authorities, Architects, Building Contractors, Engineers and Consultants.  Contact Reed Exhibitions at lynish.menezes@reedexpo.ae If you are interested and be sure to let them know you are an EmiratesGBC Corporate Member.

Organised under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates and Ruler of Dubai, The Emirates Energy Award (EEA) is a regional prize that is awarded every two years to encourage the rationalised use of energy and resources. The award which is managed by the Supreme Council of Energy recognises the efforts of the public and private sectors across the region in energy efficiency, energy projects and education and research in the energy sector. A special recognition award is also available for outstanding contributors to the energy sector.

The submission period for the Awards is open from 1 December 2016 to 1 March 2017.  For more information,  please visit the EEA page. EmiratesGBC is pleased to support the EEA.

The November technical workshop addressed the background and technicalities for building energy performance. As the topic and session received enthusiastic feedback a repeat workshop is planned for January 31^st, 2017 (am). Register via technicalworkshops@emiratesgbc.org.

This month, EmiratesGBC members and partners will learn about and discuss the critical factors that enable the optimisation of energy consumption inside buildings. Given how usage patterns, and building components change over time, the workshop will walk through the important methods which can successfully close the performance gap in a building’s energy usage. Members are invited to discuss their experiences with regards to soft landings, post occupancy evaluation in the UAE market and solutions that can be employed to optimise energy performance.

Meanwhile, the 2017 calendar for workshops is currently under development. Please share your suggestions of topics to make sure we incorporate them in due time: technicalworkshops@emiratesgbc.org.

The “Health + Mobility, A protocol for Mobilizing Healthy Living”  research, the result of collaboration between Arup, BRE, University College London and AREA Research (Perkins+Will), aims to help decision-makers deliver better mobility infrastructure in their cities through an improved understanding of the impact of mobility/infrastructure on wellbeing. It examines the correlation between physical and mental health against the availability of active and non-active transport modes for daily journeys.

Through an assessment of current studies, literature and methodologies, the research provides a framework structuring the relationship between mobility infrastructure and health. The framework supports the design protocol to help cities promote and support health and wellbeing.

http://publications.arup.com/publications/h/health_and_mobility 

The re-certification process of the Green Key properties in the country has commenced, thank you to the champions that have shared their applications and required documents.

Following the decision of  the National Jury, we are pleased to welcome three new hotels within the Green Key family: Sheraton Grand Hotel, Dubai, First Central Hotel Suites and AurisMetro Central Hotel Apartments. These properties have demonstrated great dedication in implementing best practices, communications and policies, and we look forward to starting a great journey and supporting their efforts towards advancing green building principles in the Country.

On 21 November, our Senior Technical Officer Marie Westholm-Knebel represented EmiratesGBC at the 2016 Executive Housekeepers Conference in Dubai.

The conference was a great occasion to meet passionate people who genuinely care about the quality and efficacy of their operations as well as the well-being and career development of their staff. With her presentation, participants were introduced to the EmiratesGBC Hospitality Trainings and the importance of how to properly communicate best practices with hotel staff and guests.

The BRT curriculum is nearing completion with the final round of curriculum reviews wrapping up.

The Program aims to be a formally accredited building retrofit educational program that is designed to impart knowledge and awareness of the numerous industry-wide methods and systems available which can be utilised to retrofit existing buildings. The Program will consist of two workshop modules, totalling 32 hours of instruction. The EmiratesGBC Technical Guidelines publication will be used as a textbook for the courses.

To keep the format interesting and motivational, the curriculum creators are focusing on a strategy known as ‘action mapping’. Action mapping is essentially quizzes strategically placed and worded in the curriculum which allow participants to learn a substantial amount of information within a short period of time by encouraging trial and error and most importantly classroom discussion.

It is a way of identifying and defining what the workshop participants should be able to do once they are trained; what changes in behaviour are required, and what information they need to know to be able to confidently take action with regards to their buildings. Try it out with our sample question below.

Sample Action Mapping Question Two

Adam is a building manager of a mid-level residential structure on Sheikh Zayed Road. The building is about 10 years old and he plans to upgrade the tenants’ water fixtures and equipment to reduce water wastage. What should be his first step?

A: Ask his maintenance team to check for leaks before installing anything new

B: Buy eco-certified faucets and replace the old ones

C: Hire a certified MEP engineer to carry out an assessment before taking any action

D: Add aerators to the faucet as an immediate solution while he saves more funds

Scroll to the bottom of the newsletter for the answer!

As part of EmiratesGBC commitment to advancing energy efficiency in buildings, the Council has started working on a new paper on Nearly Zero Energy Buildings (nZEBs). The paper will discuss the existing concepts of nZEBs and the factors that may influence these buildings’ targets.

For this study, EmiratesGBC is approaching corporate members asking them to provide masked data on best practice projects. Collected data will include the sources of energy used in these buildings, the design and actual energy consumption, and the possible energy savings. To know more about the study and how to get involved, contact EmiratesGBC’s office at  04-3468244 or send us an email to office@emiratesgbc.org

Click here to learn more about how the Technical Guidelines can potentially  save  your facility or home millions in utility bills and reduced operational  costs.

If you are interested in using EmiratesGBC office space for a workshop or meeting, please get in touch with us at 04-3468244 or send us an email to office@emiratesgbc.org. The room is fully equipped with AV and provides a nice environment for focused meetings or training workshops.

Big Project ME Awards 2016 winners announced

Representatives from across the GCC industry attend gala dinner and awards at Jumeirah Emirates Towers Hotel. Read more …

School’s in (with energy efficiency), but what about other MENA sectors?

As scale brings the best returns, smart and energy efficient technologies tend to be adopted first on large buildings such as offices. But is money available to support these new upfront costs for Middle Eastern commercial real estate? Read more …

BK Gulf emerged as the big winners on a night of celebration at the MEP Middle East Awards in Dubai.

The MEP contractor collected four awards including: Mechanical Project of the Year (Dubai Opera), Mechanical Engineer of the Year (Alin Epure), Electrical Engineer of the Year (Abegail Habunal) and Plumbing Engineer of the Year (Muayyad Abu Khashabeh). Read more …

Speak the language of your staff for sustainable housekeeping says EmiratesGBC

Marie-Helene Westholm-Knebel, Senior Technical Officer, Emirates Green Building Council revealed that the main sources of water consumption in a standard hotel breaks down as 30% from rooms, 16% laundry and 16% landscaping at this year’s Executive Housekeepers Conference. She insisted that housekeepers must “speak the language of their staff” to continue sustainable housekeeping practices. Read more …