Join us on March 9th to explore the Liberty Automobiles Showroom retrofit project that has been ongoing for the past 5 years. After achieving the Verified Corporate Hero Award from EWS-WWF, the session will explore the lessons learned, what has worked and new challenges for the Liberty Automobiles retrofitted building. Advanced registration to attend the tour is mandatory and free of cost. Space is limited and available only to EmiratesGBC Members and strategic partners.

On February 8^th Emirates Green Building Council in conjunction with Heriot-Watt University co-hosted the second annual Green Building Student Forum. Attended by five universities, the event included a professional panel that was facilitated by EmiratesGBC and included representatives from CH2M Hill, Integrated Environmental Solutions (IES), EMergy LLC, Arup Gulf Limited and WSP | Parsons Brinckerhoff. The Forum was designed to encourage undergraduate and graduate students to learn about the green building industry by providing them with valuable career advice and industry insights.

On February 15^th, we wrapped up the three-part After LEED Tour Series with a visit to the recently certified LEED Gold University of Dubai campus in Academic City. Led by Jagath Gunawarden from the Dubai Chamber of Commerce team, the morning session explored the ten plus year journey taken by the stakeholders involved to achieve the LEED Gold certification. Samer Alhmdan from the project’s contractor, Kier, also stepped in to share their involvement with the LEED certification.

On February 22^nd, EmiratesGBC members were treated to a tour of Dubai Opera by Janus Rostock, Regional Design Director of Atkins and lead architect for the project. The tour, which was booked out within the first hour of being announced, highlighted the Dubai Opera building’s unique structure, drawing inspiration from the pearl diving heritage of the Emirate and the incredible flexible theatre space with moveable walls and floors which transform the space from a boxing ring to a banquet hall within hours. Special thanks to Toufik Jabour of Atkins for helping make the tour possible.

The 2017 MENA Green Building Rewards, will be celebrated on 17 May in a Gala Dinner and Awards Ceremony at Roda Al Murooj Hotel, Dubai.  We would like to commend all those who have applied, as the initiatives shown are indicative of the progress being made within the Green Building Industry. We eagerly look forward to celebrating the pioneering sustainable building achievements in the region and wishing all applicants the best of luck.  We hope that you will join us by registering to attend the Gala event in May.

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 Roda Al Murooj Hotel, Dubai on 17 May 2017. Contact us at awards@emiratesgbc.org  for more details.

We are pleased to announce that the 6^th Annual EmiratesGBC Congress 2017 will be held under the esteemed patronage of Ministry of Climate Change and Environment. Save the date for 17-18 October 2017! We will be announcing our exciting lineup of speakers in the coming months.

Sponsorship opportunities are now open, click here to view sponsorship packages.  For more information on how to support this flagship event, please contact us at engagement@emiratesgbc.org.

EmiratesGBC is pleased to announce that the Building Retrofit Training (BRT) Program will be launched in partnership with Dubai Supreme Council of Energy. The Training Program is a certification course designed to teach the fundamentals of building retrofit to the private and public sector. The Workshop content is informed by over 30 retrofit methods that are applicable and financially viable for the UAE and MENA region. After an extensive review process, the curriculum is now undergoing finalisation with training workshops aimed to kick off in April 2017. Watch this space for more updates or sign up to receive news on the program launch as soon as it is released.

MEFMA CONFEX 2017 is a full 2-day conference on March 13 & 14, 2017 with key note presentations and panel discussions of the Facility Management market in the region. The conference includes a small exhibition showcasing the latest products and services in the market, and also 2 simultaneous workshops on March 12, 2017 to educate and share the best practices in FM. Contact MEFMA to register.

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

The 3^rd Annual RetrofitTech UAE Summit & Awards is a leading platform for the UAE’s multi-sector retrofit programme and the Emirate-wide adoption of energy efficient technologies.  This summit is officially supported by Dubai Supreme Council of Energy, TAQATI and Etihad ESCO and will be held on 20-21 March 2017 in Dubai, UAE.

EmiratesGBC will also facilitate an introductory teaser to the upcoming Building Retrofit Training (BRT) Program Workshop. The session will take place in Dusit Thani from 4:30 – 6:00 pm on March 21^st. The Building Retrofit Training Program (BRT) aims to support federal and local government mandates with regards to improved energy efficiency in existing as well as new buildings in the UAE. The training program which will launch officially in Q2 will provide capacity building training through interactive workshops that teach viable building and sustainability methods which are tried and tested in the UAE.  Who should attend: Industry professionals, building owners, building operators, and building end-users.  For more information on the BRT Program please contact: eep@emiratesgbc.org

During the last 20 years Timber Engineering in Canada transformed itself from the old age traditional building method into a fashionable, high tech material solution. The Art Gallery of Ontario and the Richmond Olympic Oval are among the latest structures showcasing the potential of the New Wood structure. Although 3D detailing, CNC cutting technology and modern connection systems are now standard practice and are currently used in numerous projects throughout the country, New Wood has remained a boutique solution. Email the Canadian Embassy to register.

Supported by EmiratesGBC, the 5th District Cooling Stakeholders Summit delves into enhancing operational efficiency in district cooling to up-shoot the financial benefits whilst looking in alternative sources of energy and storage techniques. The summit will host experts from Dubai Supreme Council of Energy, MOE, SEWA, Emicool, amongst others.

In February, our technical workshop discussed the technical properties of various insulation materials available in the market; the workshop brief is now available on our website. The coming session on March 7^th will provide a comprehensive introduction of building simulation tools and energy modelling.  EmiratesGBC Technical Workshops are free to members and partners. Spaces are limited so reserve your seat early by emailing us at: technicalworkshops@emiratesgbc.org

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.

Every year, thousands of scientific journal papers are published by researchers across the world, but only a tiny proportion make it into the pages of the newspapers. This month our Academy Feature does not highlight a specific paper but instead 10! Click here to discover the trending topics of the past year. The highest scoring article of the year, with an Altmetric tally of 2,716, is the Nature paper “Contribution of Antarctica to past and future sea-level rise”, by Prof Robert DeConto of the University of Massachusetts and Dr David Pollard of Penn State University.  Read more.

Have you had the chance to look at the new website of Green Key International? Along with information on all the certified properties in the world, you will be able to find useful tools and resources on sustainable hospitality. Sign up and receive the Green Key monthly newsletter and access to great stories and best practices from certified hotels.

For more information on Green Key in the UAE, contact greenkey@emiratesgbc.org.

We are pleased to announce another year of high calibre exam preparation courses being offered in conjunction with British University in Dubai. Click here to see all training dates for 2017. Upcoming Trainings include: Certified Energy Manager (CEA) on March 14-16, Certified Energy Manager (CEM) on May 7-10 (Abu Dhabi), LEED Accredited Professional (AP) Operations and Maintenance on May 11-14. Email us to learn more.

We are happy to communicate that BASF has won the award for Innovation in Tunnels at the Arabian Tunnelling Conference and Exhibition (Dubai, Feb 21-22).  BASF’s winning technology have a great impact on the possibility of utilising tunnelling allowing for a faster and cheaper use of underground spaces and making these the option of choice for numerous infrastructure requirements.

As part of EmiratesGBC Nearly Zero Energy Buildings (nZEBs) Study, we aim to publish a statistical and analytical report to assist in defining nZEBs in the UAE that can be used as a reference to support future building regulations. The Report will be published during the World Green Building Week in September 2017 aligning with its focus on Zero Energy Buildings.

For this study, EmiratesGBC is approaching corporate members, partners and iconic projects requesting masked data on best practice low-energy 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 participate in this project, contact the EmiratesGBC office at  04-3468244 or send an email to office@emiratesgbc.org.

We are pleased to invite Dubai Hotels, Shopping Malls and Schools to participate in a  Benchmarking Project in line with Dubai’s commitment to the Building Efficiency Accelerator, an initiative under the United Nations program “Sustainable Energy for All”, in which EmiratesGBC is working in collaboration with the Dubai Supreme Council of Energy.

Under this initiative, we are aiming to benchmark at least 100 buildings in three focus groups (hotels, schools and shopping malls). To participate in this project, contact the EmiratesGBC office at  04-3468244 or send us an email to BEA@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 Roda Al-Murooj 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 April 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.

EmiratesGBC is looking for a qualified green building professional to join our dynamic and energetic team as a full time Technical Officer.  The role is responsible for planning, organizing and implementing elements of EmiratesGBC’s Technical Program and its various projects.  Candidates must have a university degree in a related subject and 2-5 years’ experience with demonstrated working knowledge of the green building industry. Contact hr@emiratesgbc.org with a cover letter and CV to apply.  Please click here for more details on the position.

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.

In a recent white paper titled “Innovations and Disruptions in Building Energy Efficiency in the GCC”, Frost & Sullivan highlights a number of technologies and services that it says will become more relevant in the region as a result of greater adoption of renewable energies and energy efficient policies. Read more …

As part of its efforts to promote sustainable and responsible practices within Dubai’s business community, the Dubai Chamber Sustainability Network, recently hosted a seminar and networking event in collaboration with the Emirates Green Building Council focusing on best practices in green building. Read more…

Emirates Green Building Council extended deadline for submissions to its Annual MENA Green Building Awards 2017. Read more…

Emirates Green Building Council (EmiratesGBC), an independent forum targeted at conserving the environment by strengthening and advertising green structure practices, signed up with hands with Heriot-Watt University, Dubai, to hold a ‘Student Forum’ that highlighted job chances in the green structure industry.  Currently in its second version, the Student Forum was open to all undergraduate and graduate students in the UAE, and offered beneficial understandings on the industry and potential occupation possibilities as well as ways to handle their job progression. Read more…

AkzoNobel, a leading global paints company, has joined Emirates Green Building Council (EmiratesGBC), an independent forum aimed at conserving the environment by strengthening and promoting green building practices. As one of the global leaders in sustainability, the company is committed to share its expertise and best practices with the construction industry. Read more…