During the last week of April, The EmiratesGBC 2016 Awards Official Judges have come back with their results which have been reviewed, along with the full Awards cycle, by KPMG. We’re pleased to announce that their results have been validated, and short-listed applicants have been notified.

We hope you will join us on 18 May to find out who the winners are and learn more about the projects, products and initiatives which contribute in making the region’s built environment greener.

Reserve seat or table for the biggest event in the green building industry calendar by registering on the Awards Gala website today, we count on you!

Thank you to the Awards Silver Sponsors, Dow Chemical and Brookfield Multiplex, making the EmiratesGBC 2016 Awards a success!

Join us on Wednesday, June 1 from 8:30-11:00 am for an engaging discussion on VOCs and their impact on Indoor Air Quality. During this informative networking session, we will hear the straight story from the regulators themselves and a variety of suppliers dedicated to providing the most air quality friendly interiors possible. RSVP today: events@emiratesgbc.org. Thank you to our sponsor, Caparol!

Last month, EmiratesGBC teamed up with the  Dubai Supreme Council of Energy and the Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry for an engaging and well-attended Focus Day. As Nearly Zero Energy Buildings (nZEBs) are increasingly becoming part of the green building industry discourse in the UAE, this event explored what the ‘n’ in nZEB stands for; highlighted local case studies and discussed what the future holds for nZEBs in the UAE.

Speakers and participants discussed major challenges for nZEB in the UAE including climatic conditions, reduction of plug-in loads, and improvement in human occupant behavior. Despite these challenges, the concept is still viable and achievable given the number of proven and verified worldwide projects. Thank you to our speakers and to Dubai Chamber of Commerce for hosting the successful event.

In April, EmiratesGBC Chairman Saeed Al Abbar delivered the keynote address at the District Cooling Summit as well as the keynote address at the CIBSE Annual Dinner.

Sarfraz Dairkee, EmiratesGBC Board of Directors Secretary, delivered a presentation on the Council’s hospitality program at Arabian Travel Market; and EmiratesGBC Technical Officer Tara Tariq delivered several presentations throughout the month on topics under the Energy Efficiency Program including, the American University in Dubai, the CIBSE Symposium, and the University of Wollongong, in addition to serving as a panelist at the 2016 Building Automation Summit.

On May 16th, EmiratesGBC will host a workshop on the advantages and sustainability of Expanded Polystyrene (EPS) insulation in Geo-Technical Applications. Discussion will also look into flammability and safety precautions related to the installation and maintenance of the product. The workshop will be held from 2:30pm  to 4:30pm. To register, please email: technicalworkshops@emiratesgbc.org.

If your company has a sustainable specialty/technology which can be introduced to other industry members in an interactive and educational workshop format, please let us know! In the past, our topics have run the gamut of the sustainability spectrum, and we welcome the diverse expertise among our members.  Email your topic suggestions to: technicalworkshops@emiratesgbc.org

Technical Workshops are open to EmiratesGBC members and partners only and subject to limited seating. Please be sure to register your participation early.

On Tuesday April 26^th, Sarfraz Dairkee, Secretary to the Board of Directors, represented EmiratesGBC at the 2016 Arabian Travel Market’s seminar on Responsible Tourism. During the session on Environmental Leadership in the UAE, Mr. Dairkee and Gaetan Lavoie, Corporate Director for Technical Services of the TIME hotels, discussed the barriers to wider spread adoption of resource efficiency within the hospitality program.

The need for all stakeholders, including interior designers, architects, contractors, consultants, building operators and owners, to work together towards a common set of goals, instead of in silos, was identified as an important change mechanism. Greater transparency in product representation by suppliers and life cycle accounting were also identified as solutions.

EmiratesGBC Operations Director Lora Shrake joined the Green Key National Operators Meeting that took place in Copenhagen during 11-13 April. Over these days, Green Key operators from all over the world discussed the future of the certification and shared replicable best practices to improve its visibility and success.

We are pleased to count 26 certified hotels in the UAE, and more have signed up to be awarded with the certification in the coming months. For more information on this international hotel eco-label, visit our website or contact greenkey@emiratesgbc.org.

Emirates Green Building Council is pleased to announce its recent initiative to further educate the industry and community by sharing green building tips through an online toolkit.  The toolkit is being developed with the objective to provide relevant information on green buildings that can be incorporated into the EmiratesGBC website and communicated to those of various levels of technical capacity.

EmiratesGBC is currently seeking committed partners to support its toolkit.  The Green Building Toolkit will be available for thousands of individuals and businesses to use to assist them with decisions to make their homes, offices or schools more efficient and sustainable.

To gain more information on the sponsorship opportunity for the EmiratesGBC Green Building Toolkit, please contact Tara Tariq at tara.tariq@emiratesgbc.org or at 04-3468244.

With a continuously growing number of hotel rooms in the pipeline, the need to assess, monitor and reduce the UAE hospitality sector’s energy and water consumption is critical to implement the right strategies and reduce its carbon footprint.

The article “Using integrated control methodology to optimize energy performance for the guest rooms in UAE hospitality sector”, written by Fadi AlFaris, Bassam Abu-Hijleh and Alaa Abdul-Ameer, summarizes a study that was conducted to measure, evaluate and increase the energy efficiency in 4 and 5 star luxury hotels in UAE. Energy benchmarking analysis was used to analyze the energy data of 19 hotel buildings to differentiate between usual and best practice of energy performance.

If you are a building owner, operator, manager, or tenant,  there are several verified methods you  can implement to improve your buildings energy and water efficiency, strengthen its longevity, and also improve occupant comfort and safety. The EmiratesGBC Technical Guidelines provide a comprehensive overview of 32 retrofit methods written by local experts for the GCC market.

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..

The Technical Guidelines are available in Arabic and English through the EmiratesGBC office for AED 250 each or AED 400 for a package of two.

EmiratesGBC offers a series of professional training programs in partnership with British University in Dubai (BUiD). For more information and to register your intent for any of our upcoming courses, please contact our education partner BUiD.

• LEED Green Associate: September 2-3 and November 11-12
• LEED Accredited Professional (BD+C): May 13-14
• LEED Accredited Professional (ND): October 7-8
• Certified Energy Manager (CEM): May 29 – June 1/Exam June 2 (Abu Dhabi) & November 6-9/Exam November 19
• Certified Energy Auditor (CEA): September 18-20/Exam September 22 & October 17-19 / Exam October 20 (Abu Dhabi)

The Middle East has witnessed a spurt in the rise of ultra-tall buildings. Based on a recent report, Dubai boasts of the sixth best skyline in the world, ahead of cities like Chicago and Shanghai. Against this backdrop, the 3rd Annual Smart Skyscrapers Summit, under the patronage of Dubai Municipality and supported by Dubai Supreme Council of Energy will be held on 16 and 17 May at Sofitel the Palm. Click here to register.

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.

We want to showcase our EmiratesGBC Members and Partners. We invite you to share with us your recent achievements and recognitions of awards, innovative methods, technologies, and services. Those selected will be featured in our monthly newsletter. Please contact us at office@emirtesgbc.org.

Our Chairman Saeed Al Abbar was part of the UAE Delegation at COP21 last December. Have a look at his comments on the UAE efforts in the global fight against climate change. Click here to read more: