Benchmarking Program

The EmiratesGBC’s Benchmarking Program is a first of its kind in the UAE and MENA Region. The program monitors energy and water consumption in a transparent, comprehensive and cross-sector manner in order to assess and map the built environment’s impact on the environment, thereby assisting in optimising strategies, regulations and initiatives towards better efficiencies.

Objective

The objective of EmiratesGBC’s Benchmarking Program is to place the UAE at the forefront of urban sustainability by benchmarking the performance of all buildings, to measure performance metrics such as energy and water in a cross-sector manner, and to establish a knowledge base of data and key analytical information.

Building Efficiency Accelerator

The Building Efficiency Accelerator (BEA) is a public-private collaboration that turns global expertise into action to accelerate local government implementation of building efficiency policies and programs. The BEA global partnership is designed to complement existing networks of cities by facilitating access to global expertise in building efficiency topics and providing a venue for engagement with private sector partners.

The initiative is one of the six assessment tools under the UN program Sustainable Energy for All which aims to double the global rate of improvement in energy efficiency.

Dubai’s Commitment to the BEA

In 2016, Dubai, with the Dubai Supreme Council of Energy (DSCE) as the BEA City Representative, became the first city in the Middle East to sign and commit to the BEA among 35 other cities. Emirates Green Building Council (EmiratesGBC) was appointed as the BEA City Liaison by DSCE to provide support for the BEA objectives and lead the selected demonstration project.
Demonstration Project: Benchmark the energy performance of at least 100 buildings in Dubai on select building types (hotels, schools and shopping malls).

BEA Partners

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Project Results

A totalof 121 properties from the UAE submitted data for the project with 103 properties located in dubai.
The participating Dubai properties represent:

10% of the total number of hotel establishments;
9% of the total mail and shopping centres;
10% of the total number of private schools in dubai
cumulative Gross Conditioned Floor Area of 5.6 sq km

The results show that there is a performance disparity amongst all the participating properties with a large gap betweenthe best and worst performers.

BEA Project Benchmarking Report

Hotels

A median hotel in Dubai consumes 252 kWh/m2/year of energy and 1,486 litres /m2/year of water.
A median resort in Dubai consumes 334 kWh/m2/year of energy and 1,676 liters/m2/year of water.
Older hotels and higher star-rated properties are both likely to consume more energy and water per unit area.

Best vs Worst Performers

Overall, best performers consume

58% less energy

per area than worst performer

Best hotel perfomers consume

65% less water

per area than worst performer

Best resorts performers consume

78% less water

per area than worst performer

Read the Hotels’ Factsheet

Schools

A median school in Dubai consumes 134 kWh/m2/year of energy and 852 liters/m2/year of water.
Newer schools are likely to consume more energy and water per unit area.
Higher KHDA rated schools are likely to consume less energy per unit area.

Best vs Worst Performers

Overall, best performers consume

61% less energy

per area than worst performer

Best resorts performers consume

84% less water

per area than worst performer

Read the Schools’ Factsheet

Malls

A median mall in Dubai consumes 465 kWh/m2/year of energy and 1300 liters/m2/year of water.
Over half energy ,on average,was consumed by the mall tenants with the remaining energy
consumption split between the cooling and common areas.
Comparisons to international benchmarks show that a median enclosed mall in Dubai consumes 57%
more energy per unit area than a median enclosed mall in US.

Lowest vs Highest Consumers

The lowest consumer uses

35% less energy

per area than the highest consumer

The lowest consumer uses

58% less water

per area than the highest consumer

Read the Malls’ Factsheet

Hotel Benchmarking

The EmiratesGBC Benchmarking Program was launched in 2016 with the UAE hospitality sector to apply a specific benchmarking methodology, with the objective to fine-tune and replicate processes to other critical sectors such as hotels, schools and malls.

The Hospitality Benchmarking Project set out to assist UAE hotels to reduce their carbon footprint by equipping them with the necessary information to improve their water and energy performances and benchmarking their consumption against similar properties in the country.

2019 Building Efficiency Accelerator Project Benchmarking Report

A total of 85 hotel properties in the UAE participated in the BEA Project.

The results showed:

A median hotel in Dubai consumes 252 kWh/m2/year of energy and 1,486 litres/m2/year of water.
A median resort in Dubai consumes 334 kWh/m2/year of energy and 1,676 litres/m2/year of water.
Older hotels and higher star-rated properties are both likely to consume more energy and water per unit area.

Best vs Worst Performers

Overall, best performers consume

58% less energy

per area than worst performer

Best hotel performers consume

65% less water

per area than worst performer

Best resorts performers consume

78% less water

per area than worst performer

Read the BEA Project Benchmarking Report

Read the Hotels’ Factsheet

2016 Hotels’ Benchmarking Report

Forty-six hotel properties across the UAE contributed to the 2016 Hotel Benchmarking Report by providing information on the general, physical, and operational characteristics of their property.

The results showed:

A median UAE hotel has an average normalized EUI of 283 kWh/m2.year
The median of the normalized EUI per guest-night ranged between 88 and 99 kWh/guest-night
A median UAE hotel has an average WUI of 136 IG/guest-night.year

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The Emirates Green Building Council currently offers five membership levels, which cater to Industry, Corporate, Individual, SME, and Student stakeholders within the Industry

EmiratesGBC hosts events throughout the year as a platform for collaboration and knowledge sharing across the industry

EmiratesGBC offers a wide range of training and workshops related to sustainability and green buildings to build capacity in the UAE and wider region.

The EmiratesGBC Green Building Tooltips is a rich online resource that provides useful information on green building practices.