The EmiratesGBC Annual General Meeting held on Thursday, December 8^th provided an 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. We received excellent feedback including constructive ways to strengthen our stakeholder engagement, and we are currently in the process of incorporating some of the excellent recommendations into our 2017 strategy. A huge thank you to everyone who attended.

The Emirates Green Building Council in conjunction with Heriot-Watt University is inviting all tertiary level students to the 2^nd edition of the student-industry green building forum on Wednesday 8^th February 2017, aimed at encouraging undergraduate and graduate students to learn about the green building industry by providing them with valuable career advice and industry insights.  We welcome all universities to join. Please contact us to learn more.

The Dr. Owainati Student Excellence Award, supported by EmiratesGBC Co-Founder Dr. Sadek Owainati, targets UAE-based students from a recognised university in the United Arab Emirates who have conducted exceptional research work in a subject related to green buildings in the Middle East.

Students are invited to refer to the EmiratesGBC website to see the list of requested documents that need to be submitted by 7 March 2017, the deadline for receiving submissions.  The winner will be announced alongside the Professional Awards during the Awards Ceremony and Gala Dinner taking place in Murooj Downtown Hotel, Dubai on 17 May 2017. Contact us for more details.

On December 20th, Emirates Green Building Council (EmiratesGBC) and Dubai Supreme Council of Energy (DSCE) invited key stakeholders of Dubai’s building industry to jointly discuss thoughts and views on future potential policies aiming at doubling the rate of energy efficiency in buildings by 2030.

The workshop commenced with an opening statement by His Excellency Ahmed Buti Al Muhairbi, Secretary General of the Dubai Supreme Council of Energy: “We are looking at developing an integrated energy policy that can facilitate our need for creating green sustainable buildings which translates into reinforcement of our Dubai Integrated Energy Strategy 2030. Our mission is to implement sustainable best practices and solutions that can transform Dubai into a global hub for clean energy and green economy.”

The joint workshop was held to discuss the Building Efficiency Accelerator (BEA), a public-private partnership of cities, businesses and organisations, which aims to improve energy efficiency in buildings. The BEA is one of six accelerators under Sustainable Energy for All (SE4All), an initiative led by the United Nations Secretary-General, and is funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF).

The initiative for policy dialogue hosted by EmiratesGBC and DSCE offered a platform to engage business and government industry stakeholders, identify policy focus areas and share strategic directions that align with the city’s sustainability vision in connection to buildings. The event also explored the creation of policy packages to address barriers, bridge efficiency gaps and avoid lock-in of inefficient building stock.

For the full story please click here

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!

On December 6^th, as part of our ongoing After LEED Tour Series, EmiratesGBC members had the privilege of visiting Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi. Since achieving its LEED Gold certification 20 months ago, Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi shared lessons learned during its journey –  what worked well and the challenges faced in maintaining a green building.  A special thank you to Geraldine Seguela and Umar Munir from Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi for their unwavering commitment to achieving the building’s intended sustainability goals and their enthusiasm in delivering an engaging tour. Stay tuned for the third instalment of the series!

This is the last chance for EmiratesGBC members 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, including speaking opportunities, and will have access to around 30,000 plus visitors comprised of Government Authorities, Architects, Building Contractors, Engineers and Consultants.  Contact Lynish from Reed Exhibitions at lynish.menezes@reedexpo.ae if you are interested and be sure to let them know you are an EmiratesGBC Corporate Member.

The World Future Energy Summit continues to set the agenda for a global discussion on the future of renewable energy, clean technology and sustainability. A platform for governments, corporate decision-makers, investors, entrepreneurs and opinion makers, World Future Energy Summit is an annual meeting place that promotes dialogue, fosters knowledge transfer and accelerates strategic decision-making in the pursuit of viable solutions to the world’s growing energy challenges. Be sure to visit EmiratesGBC’s dedicated Pavilion within the Energy Efficiency Expo while you’re at WFES 16-19 January.

Hosted by the UAE Ministry of Energy and co-located with the world’s largest power event, Middle East Electricity, Solar Middle East is MENA’s leading trade focused event for the solar industry.

Run in strategic partnership with Dubai Municipality and the Government of Dubai, the exhibition focuses on the practical implementation of solar in the thriving regional marketplace.

For further information, please contact info@solarmiddleeast.ae or visit www.solarmiddleeast.ae.

Hosted by the UAE Ministry of Energy and based in Dubai, Middle East Electricity is the largest international trade event for the power industry, covering the generation, transmission and distribution of electricity, including the renewable and nuclear energy sectors and the lighting industry.

For further details on the exhibition, conference or Future Generation, contact info@middleeastelectricity.com or visit www.middleeastelectricity.com.

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.

With a session on Energy Optimization in Existing Buildings on 13 December facilitated by Ramboll, we closed out the 2016 calendar for technical workshops. The compilation of technical briefs out of all the 2016 session will soon be available on the website, please stay tuned!

The calendar for the 2017 technical workshops is currently under development with the following sessions already confirmed:

• January 24: Predictive Maintenance Techniques
• January 31: Building Energy Performance and Energy Modelling (repeat session)

Are you an EmiratesGBC member or partner and would like to facilitate a workshop? Do you have any suggestions for topics to be addressed? If yes, then we’d like to hear from you. Please send an email to technicalworkshops@emiratesgbc.org.

Harnessing the Invisible Fuel: How to unlock the energy and water efficiency potential of the UAE private sector, by EWS-WWF and with contributions of RTI International.

The purpose of this paper is to summarise the top three barriers for energy and water efficiency in the UAE and outline recommendations to address them. The identified barriers have been derived from the UAE’s first statistically representative survey of 363 businesses in the UAE. This project aims to contribute to the advancement of comprehensive and effective policies based on research by stimulating dialogue among key stakeholders and informing policy and decision makers in regard to the wide-scale adoption of energy and water efficiency.

First Central Hotel Suites:

Please meet the Green Team of Auris Metro Central Hotel Apartments!
Taking advantage of a thorough energy audit prior to applying for Green Key certification, the hotel has identified key areas of actions to continuously improve its performance while engaging staff and guests in initiatives under a great family spirit.
Congratulations for your certification and your great energy!

For more information regarding the Green Key eco certification contact greenkey@emiratesgbc.org

The end of the year has been busy for the EmiratesGBC hospitality program! Our chairman Saeed Al Abbar and technical officers Marie-Helene Westholm-Knebel and Majd Fayyad presented at Hospitality related events in December, including the Hotel News ME Executive Housekeepers Conference and the Dubai Green Hotel Innovation Conference taking place in Dubai.

We also had the chance to present methodology and results of our Energy and Water Benchmarking Report for UAE Hotels during the networking event jointly organised with MEFMA on 15 December. The report has been well received by the FM industry, and the event’s participants agreed on the value of accessing data and benchmarking performance to advance green building principles and reduce the environmental footprint of the built environment.

Ae you an EmiratesGBC member or partner and want to get involved with the benchmarking project? Contact us at office@emiratesgbc.org.

The BRT 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.

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 allows participants to learn a substantial amount of information within a short period of time by encouraging trial and error and most importantly classroom discussion.

Try out our sample question below. If you have any feedback, please contact us at eep@emiratesgbc.org.

Jeffrey plans to install a condensate recovery system in his large multi-residential building. An MEP engineer he has hired for consultation explains the following procedures. Which of the below steps is incorrect?

A: An assessment of the existing condensate water drainage system for volume and temperature.

B: The condensate water temperature is at 12 degrees Celsius. The consultant says this does not warrant insulated piping.

C: Water treatment is unnecessary when planning and building an appropriate water storage facility for the recovered condensate water.

D: The condensate recovery pipes are routed towards the different uses within the facility such as decorative fountains, irrigation pipes.

Scroll to the bottom of the newsletter for the answer!

As part of its commitment to advancing energy efficiency in buildings, EmiratesGBC 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, particularly within the context of the UAE.

For this study, EmiratesGBC is approaching corporate members requesting 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.

With more than 30 events held during the year, including networking events, seminars and our flagship events the Annual Awards and Annual Congress, Emirates Green Building Council offers event sponsorship that provides its sponsors with great exposure to all stakeholders of the green building industry in the UAE, including local authorities and peers from the industry.

Some sponsorship opportunities have “early bird” discounts so be sure to submit your inquiries early!

In addition to our events sponsorship is also open for EmiratesGBC publications, research papers and pilot projects.

The 2017 MENA Green Building Awards is on the horizon for 2017, and as the Awards Program continues to instinctively grow, We would like to invite you to support this EmiratesGBC flagship event through sponsorship. We are eagerly looking forward to even greater success at this year’s event, which will be held on 17 May 2017 in Murooj Downtown Hotel, Dubai. Based on interest and demand, we have increased the number of award categories for 2017.

The Annual Awards Ceremony and Gala event regularly host over 165 guests, many of whom are key government stakeholders and regulatory bodies, industry professionals, NGOs and research institutions.

Below are the details concerning this year’s sponsorship levels: (click here for sponsorship package details)

Platinum Sponsor: 55,000 AED
Gold Sponsor: 40,000 AED
Silver Sponsor: 25,000 AED
A 10% Early Bird Discount applies before 1 March 2017. An additional 10% discount can also be offered should you be interested in a joint sponsorship package with the 2017 Annual Congress.

If your esteemed organisation would like to participate in this year’s event as a sponsor, please contact engagement@emiratesgbc.org or 04-3468244. We can then discuss the potential for sponsorship with you further.

For more information on the awards please refer to our website https://emiratesgbc.org/awards/2017awards/ or follow us on #MENAGBAwards.

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.

Supported by the World Green Building Council and organised in partnership with the Jordan Green Building Council and Lebanon Green Building Council, the MENA Green Building Awards 2017 will be presented in 15 professional categories. Read more …

The joint workshop was held to discuss the building efficiency accelerator (BEA), a public-private partnership of cities, businesses and organisations, which aims to improve energy efficiency in buildings. Read more …

Emirates Green Building Council (EmiratesGBC) has launched a new series of ‘green building tours’ covering buildings that have already achieved Leed (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certifications, to strengthen awareness among industry stakeholders on sustainable best practices for energy and water use efficiency. Read more….

An Emirates Green Building Council report throws up some interesting revelations about the hospitality sector’s urgent need to improve eco efforts. Read more….