Our Net Zero Centre of Excellence was launched in 2018 as a think tank and accelerator to advance net zero carbon buildings in the UAE as part of its commitment to World Green Building Council’s Advancing Net Zero Project. We invite you to explore our website to see the work we are doing. We have also summarised our objectives and actions in the EmiratesGBC Snapshot.

EmiratesGBC has partnered with Bionova Ltd, developer of One Click LCA. The partnership is based on raising awareness around embodied carbon with an objective of transforming the market towards low carbon design, construction, and manufacturing practices. To facilitate this, Bionova is offering the One Click LCA Planetary free of charge for companies in the UAE. The software has several capabilities which allows the calculation of material and carbon efficiency (A1-A3 stages).

EmiratesGBC is focusing on creating awareness towards embodied carbon in the UAE by creating a publication. We encourage companies and manufacturers to reach out to EmiratesGBC office team and learn more about this project.

According to the World Economic Forum’s Net Zero Carbon Cities Report 2021, cities cover 3% of the earth’s land surface yet they create more than 70% of all carbon emissions. To keep global temperature increases to 1.5°C or below, cities must achieve net-zero.

Buildings play a vital role in achieving net zero cities and we invite the industry to improve their performance through the International Living Future Institute’s Zero Carbon and Zero Energy Certifications, which promotes the design of high performance, climate-positive buildings that account for their total carbon impacts by reducing and offsetting both operational and embodied carbon.

If you are working on a net-zero project and would like to learn more about the certification, email us at netzero@emiratesgbc.org and we will be happy to schedule a call to discuss the benefits and process of the certification. The first 10 pilot projects in the UAE that apply to ILFI’s ZE and ZC certifications receive a discounted rate.

World Green Building Council’s Net Zero Carbon Buildings Commitment now has 133 signatories! We now have ten EmiratesGBC members, AESG, Arup, Buro Happold, Cundall, JLL, Majid Al Futtaim, Mott MacDonald, Multiplex, Siemens, and Shaw Contract committed. You can find the full list of current signatories here. The case study library also showcases industry leaders who have signed the Net Zero Carbon Buildings Commitment: 98 businesses and organisations, 28 cities, and 6 states and regions.

If you would like to join the lines of these pioneering organizations, please contact us at netzero@emiratesgbc.org.

We recently launched our latest publication in partnership with EmiratesGBC Corporate Board Member, Saint-Gobain, Making UAE Schools Healthy: In-depth Measurement of Indoor Air Quality. In this report, we evaluated the Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ) of a UAE school, supporting the Emirates Coalition for Green School’s vision and objectives of ensuring that every child in the UAE learns in a green school within this generation.

The launched was held virtually on the 3rd of March, where we presented an overview of the study findings, recommendations, and the stakeholders Call to Action. To watch the publication webinar, click here.

The publication has been developed in partnership with Saint-Gobain.

Click here to read the Report.

On March 9th, EmiratesGBC corporate member, Spec Write, facilitated a technical webinar on door sealants and their advantages and discussed how they can be placed and what their maintenance requirements are. You can watch the webinar here.

On April 6^th, EmiratesGBC Corporate Member, Enova, will facilitate a webinar on how to address the sustainability performance of an operating building & focus on Energy and IEQ. This workshop discusses how best to go beyond conventional EPC & FM to an integrated and holistic approach catering to the different facility and building occupant needs. You can register for the webinar here.

Our 2021 calendars are getting booked quickly, so if you are interested in facilitating a workshop/webinar in 2021 please email us at technicalworkshops@emiratesgbc.org.

Please consider supporting our education and technical programs in 2021 by partnering with us and coming on board as a sponsor to one of our knowledge-sharing initiatives. Opportunities range from webinars and workshops on our priority areas such as Net Zero Carbon Buildings, Energy Efficiency, Green Schools, Health & Wellness and Building Retrofit to our flagship Annual Congress and Annual MENA Green Building Awards.

Partnership opportunities are a great way for members to get involved and showcase your organization’s leadership and commitment to sustainable development initiatives. We invite you to find out more – please view our sponsorship packages and contact us to learn more.

EmiratesGBC hosts multiple events throughout the year in a variety of formats and covering a wide breadth of topics. Drawing on our members’ expertise and knowledge, we curate panel discussions, webinars, presentations and conferences that go beyond the current conversation and discuss the latest innovations and issues in the sector. If you are a member with a story to tell or interested in getting involved through speaking opportunities or would like to share ideas, please contact us at events@emiratesgbc.org with details of the topic and nominated speaker.

EmiratesGBC corporate members can fill out the speakers form and submit to events@emiratesgbc.org.

Green Key International has partnered with STORY Hospitality, an integrated and innovative hospitality management platform. The partnership with Green Key is part of a broader initiative within STORY Hospitality to encourage and promote an environmentally-conscious focus within its hotels and amongst team members.  To read more, click here.

Are you interested in certifying your hotel property with Green Key? If you would like to find out more about the Green Key certification and how we can support you, please contact greenkey@emiratesgbc.org.

Visit the UAE Green Key webpage to see a list of the UAE’s Green Key certified hotels.

Learn the fundamentals of Building Retrofit, Energy Efficiency, Indoor environmental quality and much more through EmiratesGBC’s Building Retrofit Training Introductory course or learn how to undertake a retrofit and become a Certified Specialist through the Advanced course, now internationally recognized through TUV Middle East. Each course has been divided into 4-hour modules and will be led by our expert facilitators through an online platform that can be accessed from anywhere in the region.

The program is in partnership with Dubai Supreme Council of Energy and Masdar (Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company) and is endorsed by Etihad ESCO. The Building Retrofit Specialist certification is now also recognized by RSB Dubai as part of its ESCO accreditation scheme.

The Advanced Building Retrofit Training is endorsed by TUV Rheinland Middle East Those and participants who pass the examination conducted by PersCert TÜV will receive the ‘Building Retrofit Specialist with TÜV Rheinland Certified Qualification’, an internationally recognised certificate for building retrofit.

The program offers two levels:

• 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. EmiratesGBC are partnering with a global recognized organization to provide certification to the qualification. Contact us for more details on training@emiratesgbc.org.
• Introductory Building Retrofit Training: For non-technical professionals looking for an overview of Building Retrofit methods and provides knowledge of sustainability to industry professionals looking to understand the fundamentals of building retrofit.

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

“Compost so you have fewer garbage bags. Several emirates are incorporating large scale composting at the municipal level such as Sharjah’s Bee’ah.”

The above is one of many useful tips available through the EmiratesGBC Green Building Tooltips. The Tooltips is an 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 Rain Bird and is supported by Taqati.

This month, we look at the recently launched whitepaper by RAK Energy Efficiency and Renewables Team (REEM) at RAK Municipality, New Frontiers of Energy Sustainability in the GCC Region. The paper was developed with the purpose to stimulate reflection on the current trajectory for development of sustainable energy in the GCC region, on the level of aspirations that territories in the region should have, and on barriers and game changers that can determine success in capturing existing and new major areas of opportunity.

To read the whitepaper, click here.

EmiratesGBC would like to congratulate Regulatory and Supervisory Bureau (RSB) for the launch of their Facility Manager Energy Accreditation scheme as part of a drive to raise energy efficiency in the operation and maintenance of Dubai’s buildings. The accreditation scheme is available to facility management (FM) companies and in-house FM teams that can demonstrate a strong track record in energy efficient facilities management of buildings in Dubai. Details of accredited facility managers are published on the RSB’s website

A big success for Majid Al Futtaim as they become the first and only conglomerate in the world to be awarded the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Platinum certification for their entire portfolio of hotels, underlining each hotel’s commitment to sustainability and resource efficiency.