• Annual Congress concludes with industry stakeholders joining hands to support sustainable built environments
• Global experts attend brainstorming sessions that cover all aspects of green buildings – from design and construction to financing as well as successful local initiatives
• EmiratesGBC will strengthen its activities in 2014 to drive the UAE’s ‘Green Economy for Sustainable Development’ vision  

Dubai, UAE; December 12, 2013: The second Annual Congress of the Emirates Green Building Council (EmiratesGBC), an independent forum aimed at conserving the environment by strengthening and promoting green building practices, concluded on Thursday, with industry stakeholders across the construction supply chain resolving to work together and take concerted efforts to promote sustainable built environments in the region.

The winners of the inaugural EmiratesGBC Awards were honoured for their outstanding contribution to promoting sustainable built environments at a glittering ceremony. The winner of the Paper Presentation competition and an Inter-school Debate competition were also announced.

The inaugural EmiratesGBC Award winners are:

• Best Carbon Saving/Reduction Programme of the Year – Emirates Energy Star Project by Pacific Control Systems LLC
• Green Building System Award – CEMEX with Royal City Contracting LLC for Hawk Freight Services
• Green Building Material/Product Award –  SGL Group for ECOPHIT Radiant Ceiling
• Green Building Research Award – MAPEI
• Best Training Initiative of the Year Award – Unibeton Ready Mix

Adnan Sharafi, Chairman of EmiratesGBC and Board Member of the World Green Building Council; Saeed Alabbar, Vice Chairman of EmiratesGBC and Vice Chairman of the WorldGBC MENA Network; Chris Dixon of Majid Al Futtaim Properties; Wael Deeb of Trane; and Jayant Tamhane of Siemens, presented the awards.

The EmiratesGBC Awards nominees were evaluated by Daniel Hajjar from HOK, Michael Schmidt from BASF; Rym Baouendi from Tunis GBC; Sarfraz Dairkee from Mahy Khoory; and Mohammad Asfour, Chairman of World GBC MENA Network and Jordan GBC. KPMG was the Awards Auditors.

The Congress also recognised Dr. Sadek Owainati, the founding chairman of the WorldGBC MENA Network, a network of Green Building Councils in the Middle East and North Africa, for his contribution to developing the regional network. Saeed Alabbar and Mohammed Asfour, Vice Chairman and Chairman of WorldGBC MENA Network, presented the special award to Dr. Owainati.

Sharafi said: “The overwhelming industry response to the second Annual EGBC Congress is a strong testament to the importance that the region’s construction sector places on promoting green building practices. Over the course of two days, the Congress discussed all aspects of developing sustainable built environments – from design and construction to financing – as well as put the spotlight on successful sustainability initiatives in the region.

“We are thankful to all the participants and our sponsors for their support to the Congress. Inspired by the success, we will renew our focus in 2014 on bringing together all industry stakeholders to achieve the ‘Green Economy for Sustainable Development’ vision announced by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE Vice President and Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai.”

Sobia Shahid, who authored the paper ‘Effective U-Value of Wall Assemblies for an Eco-Friendly Paint coating,’ won the Paper Presentation competition award organised as part of the Congress with the British University in Dubai. She presented the winning paper at the Congress.

The winners of the Interschool Debate competition were announced on Thursday, with Central School and Delhi Private School, Sharjah, competing in the finals. Five schools had taken part in the competition organised for the first time by EmiratesGBC. Jeffrey Willis of Arup and EmiratesGBC; Khalifa Al Kindi of Emirates NBD; Aisha Alhosani of DEWA; and Markus Lechtermann of Rotary Club Jumeirah, were the judges.  Anoop Menon from CPI moderated the debates.

Majid Al Futtaim Properties (Principal Sponsor), Siemens and Trane (Platinum Sponsors), Brookfield Multiplex, Al Abbar Group and CES Group (Silver Sponsors), ETAP (Workshop Sponsor), Emirates NBD (Competition Sponsor), and UTS Carrier                (Lanyard Sponsor) which supported the annual EGBC Congress were also recognized.

Award citations:

• Pacific Control Systems LLC won the Best Carbon Saving/Reduction Programme of the Year for the Emirates Energy Star project, endorsed by the  UAE Ministry of Environment & Water and the Ministry of Social Affairs. With the launch of Emirates Energy Star and the conduction of the UAE’s National Energy Efficiency and Carbon Footprint Initiative, the organisation is currently eliminating an average of 5,000 tons of CO2 every month and has eliminated more than 23,000 tons of CO2 emissions since 2011 till date. On average, the programme is reducing electricity consumption of the participating buildings by 18%.
• CEMEX and Royal City Contracting were awarded the Green Building System Award for the new Hawk Freight Services Warehouse in Dubai Airport Free Zone. The ECO Green ICF Construction System that was used in the project is not only more economical than any other conventional construction system, with a ROI of 4 years, but it is also helps reduce operational energy usage and maintenance needs. Amongst many achievements, the amount of AC equipment was for example reduced from the 200 tons that would have been requested through a conventional construction system to 47 tons only.
• SGL Group won the Green Building Material/Product Award for its ECOPHIT Radiant Ceiling Panels, which helps cool HVAC systems down while reducing the building’s energy usage and improving indoor environmental quality, leading to up to 40% financial savings on energy costs.
• MAPEI E won the Green Building Research Award for its research titled ‘Approaching Global Green Resilient Flooring Adhesive,’ which investigates the nature of adhesives against the requirements of international legal schemes and rating systems and highlights the need for eco-sustainability in the building materials.

• Unibeton won the Best Training Initiative of the Year Award for an impressive set of training initiatives and programmes to increase public awareness, both internal and external, on the benefit of green technology and sustainability. The organisation conducts technical seminars and workshops, and has a unique Internship programme and waste recycling programme.

EmiratesGBC regularly hosts and participates in multinational events, conferences and forums. EmiratesGBC has also developed a suite of activities, inclusive of networking events, technical workshops, focus days and facilitated training based around specific issues related to the built-environment that meet the needs of its members, of the UAE community, and the wider Middle East.

For more details of the Congress, contact: events@emiratesgbc.org

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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