On 18 May, Emirates Green Building Council proudly awarded the winners of the 2016 EmiratesGBC Awards for their achievements in the green building industry:

• Green School of the Year: Qatar Academy Msheireb (Brookfield Multiplex)
• Green Commercial Building of the Year: City Center Me’aisem (Majid Al Futtaim)
• Green Hotel of the Year: Alila Jabal Akhdar Resort (Oman Tourism Development Co)
• Green Residential Building of the Year: The Sustainable City (Diamond Developers)
• Green Facility Management Organization of the Year: Enova
• Green Building Material / Product of the Year: VRV IV, by Daikin Middle East and Africa FZE
• Green Building Research: “Solar Calorimeter Test Facility”, by RAK Research and Innovation Centre
• Training Initiative of the year: The Carbon Ambassadors Program 2015/16, by Dubai Electricity and Water Authority
• Owainati Student Excellence Award: Maria Gabriela Soto Conde – Heriot-Watt University: “Evaluation of available building integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) systems and their impact when used in commercial buildings in the United Arab Emirates”

To see the entire list of short-listed projects and photo gallery of the event, visit the 2016 Awards website: https://emiratesgbc.org/awards/2016awards/

Thank you to the Awards Sponsors Dow Chemical and Brookfield Multiplex and Official auditor KPMG for their support in making the EmiratesGBC 2016 Awards a success!

During the Annual EmiratesGBC Awards Ceremony and Gala Dinner, Saeed Al Abbar, EmiratesGBC Chairman, officially announced the rebranding of the Awards in 2017 to highlight the regional scope of the competition.

Supported by World Green Building Council and other regional GBCs, the MENA Green Building Awards will further highlight the region’s growing capacity to green its urban environment and showcase its best practices, projects and research.  The 2017 MENA Green Building Awards will officially launch in December 2016.  Stay tuned for more details!

Alongside her participation in the 2016 EmiratesGBC Awards, Ms Terri Wills, CEO of WorldGBC, attended local government stakeholder meetings with EmiratesGBC.  High level meetings were carried out with Dubai Supreme Council of Energy, Abu Dhabi Urban Planning Council, and Masdar City to discuss progress on sustainability and green buildings in the UAE and how local action is tying in with global trends.  EmiratesGBC is committed to working with both local and international stakeholders to reduce the ecological footprint of the built environment, and we welcome joint collaboration and partnerships that will help strengthen our impact.

We are thrilled to announce that Emirates Green Building Council will be celebrating its 10^th anniversary this year. In 2006, the very first EmiratesGBC board meeting was held, thus inaugurating the council. The festivities will include an invitation-only, VIP anniversary celebration on September 21^st. In order to give the celebration the recognition it deserves, we are opening a special sponsorship package for this high profile event. Click here to learn more.

With the Holy Month of Ramadan almost upon us, EmiratesGBC and Trane is pleased to invite you to join us for an Iftar on June 13^th. The invitation is open only to our members and since it is a corporate Iftar we invite only colleagues to attend.  Please email us to RSVP. Ramadan Kareem!

Join us on Wednesday, June 1 from 8:30-12pm 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 and consultants dedicated to providing the most air quality friendly interiors possible. Click here to RSVP. Thank you to our event sponsor, Caparol, and to our venue host, DEWA!

EmiratesGBC Chairman Saeed Al Abbar spoke at the press launch of the ‘I LED The Way’ campaign in May. A new green initiative in the UAE, the campaign aims to promote the use of LED lights and energy efficiency in an attempt to minimize negative environmental impacts.  The movement is spearheaded by Dubai Supreme Council of Energy and supported by Emirates Green Building Council and EWS-WWF. Federal and local government stakeholders, such as the Emirates Authority for Standardization and Metrology (ESMA) and Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA), have also stepped in to support the campaign. Click here and here to see press coverage of the launch.

Following the latest decision of the Green Key National Jury, we are pleased to welcome within the Green Key family 4 new properties which have demonstrated high standards and best green practices. Congratulations to Time Oak Hotel & Suites, Time Grand Plaza, Manzil Downtown and Vida Downtown for receiving their eco-label certifications!

On 11 May, Emirates Green Building Council and the Sharjah Commerce and Tourism Authority (SCTA) joined hands to raise awareness for green hospitality in Sharjah. His Excellency Khalid Jasim Al Midfa, Chairman of SCTA, opened the event by sharing the Authority’s commitment to position Sharjah in the forefront of family and eco- friendly tourism.

EmiratesGBC Senior Technical Officer Marie Westholm-Knebel then led a workshop with more than 40 hoteliers to identify the first steps to start their green journey, using Green Key as a base to identify and implement best practices.

Accelerating Building Efficiency: Eight Actions for Urban Leaders provides a path forward to deliver better buildings before cities “lock in” decades of inefficiency—taking this path will be key to meeting our global sustainable development goals (SDGs). The report focuses on eight categories of policies and actions that can help decision-makers plan for transformative change in their cities. It highlights policies that can drive building energy performance, actions that cities can take to lead by example, and the enabling conditions that will deliver success.

Link: http://publications.wri.org/buildingefficiency/

A new report by EWS-WWF: Harnessing the Invisible Fuel, provides readers for a low-carbon future by relaying what the UAE needs to do to embrace energy and water efficiency. The report is coauthored with RTI International and forms part of EWS-WWF’s commitment to support the UAE in realizing the full economic and environmental benefits of energy and water efficiency.
This in-depth study investigates the top three barriers hampering energy and water efficiency in the private sector, as identified by the UAE’s first statistically representative survey on the subject

Click here to read the report

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.

• LEED Green Associate: September 2-3 and November 11-12
• LEED Accredited Professional (ND): October 7-8
• Certified Energy Manager (CEM): November 6-9/Exam November 19
• Certified Energy Auditor (CEA): September 18-20/Exam September 22 & October 17-19 / Exam October 20 (Abu Dhabi)

Congratulations to corporate member Taka Solutions for being chosen as a global finalist in The Venture Competition! Part of the competition is a 5-week popular voting period for a share of $250,000 in funding.  Taka Solutions has earned that nomination by actively trying to spread the word about energy efficiency and how individual people have the ability to have a positive impact and solve the environmental challenges facing the world. To learn more about the competition, click here.