Good news! We have extended the deadline for the 2019 MENA Green Building Awards until the 10^th August Midnight (UAE time), giving applicants a couple of extra weeks to prepare and perfect their submissions.

This prestigious awards program celebrates achievements, success stories and best practices across the region and honours companies and projects championing sustainability and best practice in the buildings and construction sector across the MENA region.

The awards have 20 professional categories including for the first time an award for ‘Zero Building/Zero Building Design of the Year’ which honours entities for advancing net zero in the built environment and supporting the industry’s rapid transition to a net zero future.  Click here to find out more about the categories and significance to the region.

The Awards are open to projects and companies in the MENA region and are endorsed by the World Green Building Council and supported by regional Green Building Councils: Jordan, Lebanon, Egypt, Kuwait, Morocco and Palestine. Majid Al Futtaim is the Platinum Partner for the awards for the second consecutive year; demonstrating their continuous commitment to sustainable built environments in the MENA region.

To find our more about the categories and application process, please visit the MENA Green Building Council Awards website and download the applicant guidelines.

Shortlisted applicants will be notified by the end of September with the winners announced at the MENA Green Building Awards Ceremony and Gala Dinner on 16th October at The Westin Dubai Mina Seyahi Beach Resort & Marina. Save the date for this event which is the highlight of the green building calendar. Click here to register to attend and join us for an evening of celebration and networking with industry peers! Discounts available for group bookings.

There is also still time to sponsor the awards, which is an opportunity for organisations such as yours to partner with us on this prestigious program. This year we have introduced the option of Category Sponsor which offers you the opportunity to represent one of the 20 catgeories being celebrated this year. If you are interested in sponsoring the MENA Green Building Awards please take a look at our sponsorship packages or contact engagement@emiratesgbc.org.

Applications are still open for the 2019 cycle of the Dr. Owainati Student Excellence Award – we are giving students until the 10^th August Midnight (UAE time) to submit their applications. This award is an opportunity to have completed student research recognised in an industry forum and win a cash prize of up to 3000 AED.

The Award, sponsored by EmiratesGBC Co-Founder Dr. Sadek Owainati, specifically rewards a student from a recognised university in the UAE who has conducted exceptional research work in a subject related to green buildings in the Middle East. The Award is open to an academically accepted thesis and/or research paper submitted for a post-graduate degree or a final year undergraduate university research project or dissertation in the United Arab Emirates. The award is judged by a panel of industry experts and the winner will receive invidual membership to EmiratesGBC and be eligible for a cash prize (amount based on scoring).

 Shortlisted applicants will be notified by the end of September with the winner announced at the Annual MENA Green Building Awards Ceremony in October. Find our more about the categories and application process please visit the Student Awards website and download the applicant guidelines.

A warm congratulations to our four new EmiratesGBC Student Members.

Hurry up, the sponsorship of 4 student memberships is still available with EmiratesGBC, and the first students to apply for student membership will have their 2019 membership fees waived.  Interested students should submit their membership application form to the EmiratesGBC office and show proof of full-time enrollment with a university in the UAE. Student membership offers the chance to network with industry professionals, attend industry events and trainings, and get insight into the local green building job market.

This student sponsorship is thanks to the generosity of EmiratesGBC member Holley Chant – thank you, Holley!

This month we warmly welcomed Hiba Ahmed to the EmiratesGBC team, who has joined us for a two-month internship over the summer months.

Hiba is a civil engineer and sustainable building design enthusiast who recently relocated to Dubai to begin her professional career. Hiba has a MSc in civil engineering and construction management from the University of Derby in the UK, where she completed a thesis on the life-cycle energy assessment for the University of Derby STEM building. Hiba also has a strong understanding of the Sustainable Development Goals having worked with a global youth platform to raise awareness of the UN SDG’s.  She is particularly interested in the delivery of SDG 11: sustainable cities and communities and this was the reason behind choosing her masters’ thesis and joining the EmiratesGBC team as an intern.

Hiba is supporting the EmiratesGBC education programme and has already conducted in-depth research on Green Building Topics and the UAE market. We are thrilled to have her and hope you have the chance to meet her and talk green buildings at one of our upcoming events.  Welcome, Hiba!

Zero Energy Certification

Did you know that Zero Energy buildings have best in class energy efficiency improvements of 60-90% over baseline buildings? Certifying gives your project a stamp of approval from one of the world’s most prestigious sustainability organisations, the International Living Future Institute (ILFI), and helps maintain integrity of the zero-energy ideal.

So do not wait! If you are working on a net-zero project,  please email us at netzero@emiratesgbc.org. We are here to assit you and meet with you to discuss the benefits and process of ILFI’s zero building certifications.  The first 10 pilot projects in the UAE that apply to ILFI’s ZE and ZC certifications will receive a 50% discount.

EmiratesGBC launched the Net Zero Centre of Excellence in 2018 as a think tank and accelerator to advance net zero carbon buildings in the UAE, further supporting its commitment to World Green Building Council’s global Advancing Net Zero Project. We invite you to explore the website to learn more about the Centre’s objectives, our research, Zero building certifications and the Net Zero Carbon Buildings Commitment.

Our latest works and achievements for the Net Zero Centre of Excellence are included in the latest publication by the World Green Building Council, the Advancing Net Zero Status Report 2019. We encourage you to read more in the report.

Embodied Carbon Report

World Green Building Council is looking to give visibility to businesses, organisations and public entities that are leaders in the built environment and, where possible, are taking action on embodied carbon. They are looking for endorsements that add credibility to their upcoming report to increase its impact.

If you are interested in this opportunity, please contact us at netzero@emiratesgbc.org.

Net Zero Buildings Commitment

EmiratesGBC is advocating for regional players to join the highly effective mission toward worldwide decarbonisation.  We encourage our members and partners to help us raise the industry bar by joining the Net Zero Building Carbon Commitment, and helping us in making this vision a reality.  The Net Zero Buildings Commitment now has 52 signatories, including our members AESG and Majid Al Futtaim. You can find the full list of current signatories here.

For information, email us at netzero@emiratesgbc.org

During August 2019 we will be inviting EmiratesGBC members and partners to join us on exclusive tours of projects demonstrating Green Building excellence and innovation in the UAE.  See the first to be announced below:

Health and Wellbeing of occupants is fast becoming a priority in building design and construction and the WELL Building Standard is one of the leading certifications in this area enabling and revolutionising the way people think about buildings. It explores how the design, operations and behaviours within the places where we live and work can be optimised to advance health, well-being and the environment.

We will commence our site tour season by visiting the offices of Cundall, EmiratesGBC member. The tour will encompass a presentation introducing the WELL Building Standard, followed by an interactive walk around the office highlighting the different WELL features implemented in the offices, whilst sharing lessons learned.

This project-owner’s perspective on targeting WELL certification for a building will explain the parameters of the standard and the real-life benefits, including increased profitability, productivity and occupancy well-being.

The tour will take place at the Cundall Dubai office (3201 Marina Plaza, Dubai) at 8.30am on 7^th August. Places are limited and reserved for EmiratesGBC members and partners only. Click here to register to attend.

EmiratesGBC is pleased to extend an invitation to members and partners to join an exclusive ‘The World’s Greatest Show in the Making’ tour hosted by Expo 2020.

Expo 2020’s colourful coach will pick up the EmiratesGBC delegation from Marina Mall at 10.30 am on the 28^th August.  Once on board, we will experience dynamic and engaging journey through the history of World Expos as we make our way to the Expo site in Dubai South. Here, we will explore the Expo 2020 Visitor Centre before reboarding the bus for a tour of the site. This is an opportunity to get an early look at incredible architecture in the making, such as Al Wasl Plaza, the site’s beating heart, the falcon-inspired UAE Pavilion and the Sustainability Pavilion, which pushes the boundaries of eco-conscious design.

Sustainability is a central theme of Expo2020, and the site buildings and operations have incorporated many innovative and ground breaking sustainability features – we will be accompanied by a member of the sustainbality team who will provide insights and be on hand to answer questions.

Click here to reserve your place on the tour. Places are limited and expected to fill up fast so make sure you register early to secure your place. Registration is open to EmiratesGBC members only.

On July 8^th, and as part of the Air Quality in Built Environment campaign, WorldGBC’s Better Places for People (BPFP) team launched the Plant a Sensor campaign, in collaboration with RESET and in partnership with Earth Day Network.

The idea is very simple, BPFP initiative is asking individuals to install indoor and outdoor air quality sensors to generate a detailed global data map as part of Earth Challenge 2020 citizen science programme, to make use of localised AQ data for awareness, research and advocacy work.

Here’s how you can support:

• Participate in the Plant a Sensor campaign and sign up online here.
• Spread the word. Tell others about the campaign and encourage your peers to also participate.
• Follow @EmiratesGBC and @WorldGBC on social media and retweet and share our ‘Plant A Sensor’ posts

EmiratesGBC annually publishes the Green Building Market City Briefs in partnership with the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC). The briefs highlight the green building policies in both Abu Dhabi and Dubai and show evidence of the great progresses and achievements from the implemented initiatives that promote sustainable development in the country.

To read the updated City Briefs, and receive all the relevant facts of our growing green building industry in the UAE in a digestible and easy to read format, all you have to do click here.

With just a couple more weeks until the MENA Green Building Awards deadline, we are featuring last year’s winners to inspire our next round of applicants. This month we look at Green Building Product of the year which is divided into three sub-categories: Energy Management, Indoor Air Quality, and Conventional Construction Materials.

The 2018 winner of this Conventional Construction Materials sub-category was AkzoNobel for the Interpon D2525 ECO global range of heat reflective powder coatings. This innovative material is being produced and distributed all over the world from AkzoNobel Powder Coatings factories, and contributing to green building projects globally including here in the UAE.

Congratulations AkzoNobell!

To find out more about the 2018  awards and category winners, take a look at the awards brief and continue to support the MENA Green Building Awards through social media by using the hashtag #MENAGBAwards. If you are interested in getting involved in the awards through sponsorship, then please get in contact via engagement@emiratesgbc.org

EmiratesGBC would like to congratulate Address Downtown, Address Montgomerie, Grand Millenium Al Wahda, and Raffles Dubai on becoming new Green Key certified hotels. Well done!

There are now 41 properties certified in the UAE, with the number set to increase in the coming months.

A Green Key certified camp in Croatia, Kamp Kovačine, held an Eco-Theatre last year about plastics, micro plastics, clean and dirty beaches. The campsite employees dressed as dolphins, birds, flowers, and other species that plastic bags are a hazard to, and the children, in turn, had the opportunity to save them and the environment using “decision cards”. The exercise helped the attending children become aware of how their actions impacted the environment and what they can do to save it. It also aided them to identify with nature and understand what plastic pollution really is and its contributions to climate change.

Hotels and other tourism properties can engage the children visiting them in similar activities to make sure that they are doing their part in educating the coming generations and empowering them to make a change.

If you are a developer, hotelier, or own a restaurant or a café and you are interested in applying for the Green Key Certification, please email us at greenkey@emiratesgbc.org.

World Green Building Week, a global awareness campaign to elevate the need for buildings that help us reduce our impact on the planet and climate change, is just around the corner 23-29 Sept 2019.

We at EmiratesGBC are part of a global green building movement which covers 70 countries and 37,000 members.  Collectively we are committed to reducing the building and construction sector’s CO₂ emissions to reach net zero by 2050: to ultimately help limit global temperature rises to 1.5 degrees Celsius.

This year the World Green Building Week campaign theme is Building Life: we’re aiming to raise greater awareness of the carbon emissions from all stages of a building’s lifecycle. Currently, building and construction together account for 39% of energy-related carbon dioxide emissions. Operational emissions from buildings account for 28% overall, while the remaining 11% are attributed to embodied carbon emissions, the carbon that is released during material manufacturing and the construction and demolition process.

Therefore, through the Building Life campaign we are encouraging new practices and new ways of thinking to take action towards reducing carbon emissions from buildings.

Are you interested in becoming a Campaign Ambassador. Last year, our campaign reached over 155 million people and sparked nearly 300 grassroots events and activities across the world.

This year, we’re Building Life and exploring how we can create a green, healthy and climate resilient built environment for all – and we’d love you to join us.

We’d be so grateful for your support here are a few suggestions for how you could get involved in this year’s campaign:

• Social media posts – provide 1-3 exclusive quotes about the campaign and the importance of Building Life
• Video – provide a video message expressing your support for World Green Building Week
• Blog – author a thought piece on what your company is doing to address the carbon emissions from all stages of a building’s lifecycle
• Make a Building Life pledge during World Green Building Week

For further information about World Green Building Week ,please email engagement@emiratesgbc.org

Last month EmiratesGBC highlighted the importance of retrofitting existing building stock in the UAE for meeting national and global carbon emission targets. Building Retrofitting is an important method for improving energy efficiency of existing buildings and is being given strategic priority in the UAE as demonstrated by targets and commitments set by Dubai Supreme Council of Energy and DEWA (read more here). The Building Retrofit Porgramme prepares and provides industry professionals with the skills to implement retrofit projects in the region.

The Building Retrofit Training Courses are open for registeration and we look forward to certifying our next wave of Building Retrofit Specialists.The Building Retrofit Training Program runs throughout the year – register today to secure your place on an upcoming course.

The training program teaches the fundamentals of Building Retrofit specific for the Middle East region and offers the opportunity to become an EmiratesGBC certified Building Retrofit Specialist after successful completion of the Advanced course and examination. Click here to read more about why retrofitting existing built environments in the UAE is crucial for meeting national and global carbon emission target.

The program is in partnership with Dubai Supreme Council of Energy and Masdar (Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company) and offers two levels of training:

• Advanced Building Retrofit Training Course: This two-day course is perfect for engineers and technical experts with prior experience or currently undertaking retrofit projects who wish to enhance and streamline their knowledge of retrofit principles and methods. Participants of the course will undertake an examination which will allow them to become an EmiratesGBC certified Building Retrofit Specialist.
• Introductory Building Retrofit Training: For non-technical professionals looking for an overview of Building Retrofit methods. Led by expert facilitators, this one-day course provides knowledge of sustainability to industry professionals looking to understand the fundamentals of building retrofit.

Further information about the courses and eligibility guidelines can be found on the website.  We invite you to visit the Building Retrofit Training webpage to register. EmiratesGBC can also schedule in-house training for groups of 10 or more, please contact events@emiratesgbc.org to request a proposal. EmiratesGBC members and partners will receive a 20% discount off the registration fees.

Hear what some of our previous participants had to say about the course:

‘I took BRT because I am a non-technical professional entering the retrofit sector in Dubai, working on demand side management. This course gave me a solid overview and understanding of building/villa/structure from a retrofit perspective and the current legislation and trends in Dubai.’

 ‘I would like to personally thank EGBC for introducing the BRT as it became really a good reinforcement to tackle the issues concerning the built environment especially the existing buildings. Truly, if majority of the building professionals, owners and the building occupants are aware of the impact of buildings, EGBC’s launching of the certification for Building Retrofit specialists will paved the way to transforming buildings and the built environment in general as high performing and low to zero carbon places on earth.’

EmiratesGBC Co Founder Habiba Al Marashi participated as key note speaker at the 2019 Comfort at the Extremes Conference hosted by Heriot Watt University-Dubai. Their coference legacy document is now available summarizing the important discussions that took place during the 2-day event.

“In the face of an ever more extreme climate the world is calling urgently for answers to questions of how people can stay not only comfortable, but also thermally safe and healthy.

The Comfort at the Extremes Conference (https://comfortattheextremes.com/), hosted at Heriot Watt University, in April 2019,  addressed what must increasingly be seen as the key issue for the Built Environment in the 21st century.

This document reports on the contents and discussions following each of the 15 Workshops held at the conference with some thoughts from individual Workshop Chairs.”

You can access the report here

We encourage you to improve your lifestyle by adopting an EmiratesGBC Green Building Tooltip. As we enter the one of the hottest month of the year in the UAE, we tend to make lifestyle changes to adapt to the hot weather.  Changing food habits can be one lifestyle changes you choose to go with, if that’s the case, our Lifestyle and Awareness Tooltips recommend that we “eat less meat; its takes 660 gallons to produce just one hamburger patty. Animal agriculture uses 1/3 of the earths fresh water supply.”

The EmiratesGBC Green Building Tooltips is a rich online platform serving to further educate the industry and community on simple green building practices. The interactive designs cover three different building typologies, showcasing home, school, and office buildings.  The initiative is powered by BASF and Legrand, EmiratesGBC board members underlining their commitment to promoting sustainability, and is supported by Taqati whose mission is tied to achieving Dubai’s sustainability goals.

We urge you to visit the Green Building Tooltips on our website to test out this valuable tool and pursue a greener lifestyle whether it be at home, school or the office.

The July Technical Workshop was about 3D concrete printing, a topic addressed by the Council for the first time which proved to be very popular. The workshop garnered a lot of interest from industrial structural experts and individuals in academia and the session was very interactive, resulting in interesting discussions. The session also highlighted how new the technology still is as and that further R&D is required for it to reach its full potential.

Are you an EmiratesGBC member or partner and would like to facilitate a technical workshop? If you have any suggestions for topics you would like to see addressed, we want to hear from you.

Email us at technicalworkshops@emiratesgbc.org.

This month we look at the recently released 2018 Annual Report of the Demand Side Management Strategy (DSM) 2030, a key publication of the Dubai Supreme Council of Energy, developed by Taqati- the report presents the progress and performance of the Dubai Demand Side Management (DSM) Strategy 2030 for 2018. By the end of 2018, DSM Strategy implementation resulted in 4.5 TWh annual electricity savings and 6.7 billion imperial gallons annual water savings, corresponding to 9.9% and 5.5% of the baseline consumption, respectively. Among the key achievements for 2018 included increased share of green buildings in new buildings commissioned and permitted by Dubai Municipality and free zone authorities.

To read the full report, click here.

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.

Click here to learn more about how the Technical Guidelines for Retrofitting Existing Buildings can potentially save your facility and/or home millions in utility bills and reduced operational costs.  Copies are available in both English and Arabic for purchase at the EmiratesGBC office.

EmiratesGBC also offers a free copy of the Technical Guidelines, as part of your registration and participation in the Building Retrofit Training Workshop. For more details, please click here to complete registration.

Emirates Green Building Council (EmiratesGBC), an independent forum aimed at conserving the environment by strengthening and promoting green building practices, will honour excellence in green building initiatives in 20 categories – the largest to date – at this year’s MENA Green Building Awards.

The prestigious annual awards recognise the sustainability champions in the Middle East and North Africa region, and the winners will be announced during a ceremony to be held on October 16, 2019, at The Westin Dubai Mina Seyahi Beach Resort & Marina.

This year, EmiratesGBC has introduced a new category – the Zero Building or Zero Building Design of the Year – which honours entities for advancing net zero in the built environments. The deadline for submission has been extended to 10 August at midnight UAE time to allow more time for regional companies to enter the awards.

Read more

“The UAE’s traditional towns consisted of clusters of inward-facing courtyard houses connected via narrow pathways, creating shaded areas, reducing heat gains and benefiting from prevailing winds,” said Saeed Al Abbar, Chairman of the Emirates Green Building Council

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Emirates Green Building Council (EmiratesGBC), an independent forum aimed at conserving the environment by strengthening and promoting green building practices, has highlighted its strong role in driving the sustainable development narrative globally with its senior leaders elected to key international positions.

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As secretary to the Emirates Green Building Council, Sarfraz H Dairkee took a slightly alternative approach when critiquing nominations for the most recent instalment of the MEP Awards.

“I look at things in a slightly different way to the rest of the industry,” he told MEP Middle East.

“I was very much looking for solutions that were customized instead of readymade.”

And his judging methods stand to reason; his organization carries a remit to advance green building principles for protecting the environment and ensuring sustainability in the United Arab Emirates.

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Emirates Green Building Council (EmiratesGBC) will honour excellence in green building initiatives in 20 categories at this year’s MENA Green Building Awards.

The annual prizegiving recognises the sustainability champions in the Middle East and North Africa region, with winners unveiled during a ceremony on 16 October.

Read more

Environment sustainability in every sphere of business is an ingrained culture at RAK Ceramics. We are part of the Emirates Green Building Council, which supports the development of sustainable buildings in the UAE …

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The UAE’s concerted move toward ‘circularity’ aligns with its strategies and initiatives including the UAE Vision 2021 and the Centennial Strategy 2071, which aims to drive sustainable growth and position the country among the best in the world.

Emirates Green Building Council, which has been at the forefront in driving dialogue and action on built environment sustainability, took the discussion on circularity further at its 8th Annual Congress. The Council highlighted the role of circularity in the building sector and the need to apply its principles to reduce the embodied carbon of buildings.

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