Are you interested in facility management, operations or maintenance of buildings? EmiratesGBC is giving members the opportunity on January 9^th to visit our corporate member Summertown’s LEED O+M Certified headquarters.  We will tour the facility and explore the innovations that go into maintaining this unique building for optimal energy and water consumption while maintaining the wellbeing of occupants. Advanced registration is mandatory, please email events@emiratesgbc.org to register.

On December 20^th Emirates Green Building Council in collaboration with Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC) and Dubai Supreme Council of Energy (DSCE) highlighted the importance of working towards Nearly Zero Energy Buildings (nZEBs) at an event titled ‘Building a Case for Nearly En

The event was attended by government representatives and real estate developers with a discussion on the importance of Zero Energy Buildings and how the UAE can move towards a standard of nZEBs. EmiratesGBC also highlighted the findings of its report, ‘Defining Nearly Zero Energy Buildings in the UAE – 2017,’ which identified that the UAE is aligned with the global timeline to adopt nZEBs.

We would like to extend a warm thank you to MBRSC for hosting the event and providing an informative introduction to the features of their Sustainable Autonomous House through a  comprehensive presentation and tour.  The house is the first of its kind passive house project in the region, developed to be self-sufficient, operating off the electricity grid and serving as a model for what can be achieved towards nZEBs in a hot and humid climate.

The EmiratesGBC 2017 Annual General Meeting held on Thursday, December 14th provided an opportunity for corporate and individual members to learn about the recent progress of the Council and to voice opinions and suggestions on the future direction and activities of EmiratesGBC. We received excellent feedback including constructive ways to strengthen our stakeholder engagement, and we are currently in the process of incorporating some of these recommendations into our 2018 strategy. A huge thank you to everyone who attended and to those organisations and individuals who went above and beyond with giving their time, expertise and financial support to the Council in 2017.

EmiratesGBC is pleased to announce its new partnership with the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS).  RICS is a global professional body promoting and enforcing the highest international standards in the valuation, management and development of land, real estate, construction and infrastructure.  EmiratesGBC and RICS are looking forward to a fruitful partnership and collaboration for the year ahead.  Please visit the RICS website to understand more about their activity in the UAE.

Organised by Emirates Green Building Council and in partnership with supporting MENA Green Building Councils, the 2018 MENA Green Building Awards has organically grown to accommodate a wider industry with four new categories now introduced to the 2018 Awards:

• Green Healthcare Building of the Year – includes all buildings, private or public, related to healthcare
• Green Public Building of the Year – includes government/agencies such as museums, libraries, post offices, airports
• Sustainable Urban/Community Development Design of the Year – added to highlight the focus to move beyond just looking at buildings to a wider community and therefore city level
• Training Initiative of the Year – added to recognize the commitment to foster a new generation of professionals for the growing green building sector in the region

Visit the website to see the full list of awards categories.  If you think your company or your projects or products deserve recognition, please refer to the awards website and apply!

3^rd Annual Green Building Industry Student Forum

The Emirates Green Building Council in conjunction with Heriot-Watt University is inviting all tertiary level students to the 3^rd edition of the student-industry green building forum on Wednesday, January 24^th, 2018 aimed at encouraging undergraduate and graduate students to learn about the green building industry by providing them with valuable career advice and industry insights.  We welcome all universities to join. Please contact us to learn more.

2018 Dr. Owainati Student Excellence Award – Open for submissions!

The Dr. Owainati Student Excellence Award, sponsored 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 1^st February 2018, the deadline for receiving submissions.  The winner has the chance of being rewarded a cash prize and will be announced alongside the Professional Awards during the Awards Ceremony and Gala Dinner on Dubai on May 9^th, 2018.  Contact EmiratesGBC at awards@emiratesgbc.org if you have any questions.

Recognising organisations and projects for innovative and outstanding sustainable building principles and practices in the Middle East and North Africa region, the MENA Green Building Awards is looking for committed supporters through sponsorship to help grow the 2018 Awards to be bigger and better than ever. 

In partnership with MENA GBCs such as Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Morocco and Palestine GBCs, we are looking forward to another successful event and would like to take this opportunity to invite our members and partners to sponsor.  There is an early bird discount on sponsorship packages available until 01 February 2018. 

We encourage you to visit our website to understand more about the awards and our sponsorship packages.

Please also take a look at last year’s awards brief for a comprehensive overview of what the awards entail, as well as to meet the 2017 winners and shortlisted organisations.

We are pleased to invite Hotels, Shopping Malls and Schools in Dubai to participate in the Benchmarking Project carried out in a partnership with Dubai’s commitment to the Building Efficiency Accelerator, a global initiative under the United Nations program Sustainable Energy for All “SE4All”, in which EmiratesGBC is collaborating with the Dubai Supreme Council of Energy.

Under this initiative, we will 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 an email with your interest to BEA@emiratesgbc.org.  You can learn more about the Benchmarking Project here.

BEA Sponsorship opportunities are also open, and we invite you to learn more by clicking here or contacting engagement@emiratesgbc.org.

EmiratesGBC is inviting members of the green building industry to exhibit with us under the EmiratesGBC Pavilion at the Energy Efficiency Expo, co-located with World Future Energy Summit.  EmiratesGBC is a partner of the Energy Efficiency Expo dedicated to promoting energy efficiency across buildings, transportation and manufacturing sectors. The event is hosted by Masdar and is part of Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week, taking place from 15-18 January at Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre.

In order to showcase the green, sustainable and energy-efficient products and solutions for its members, EmiratesGBC is proud to host a dedicated pavilion at the Energy Efficiency Expo. EmiratesGBC corporate members exhibiting within the pavilion are eligible for special rates and benefits and will have access to 30,000+ visitors including Government Authorities, Architects, Building Contractors, Engineers and Consultants.

If you are interested in exhibiting contact Reed Exhibitions at carla.fadel@reedexpo.ae and be sure to let them know you are an EmiratesGBC Corporate Member.

The Building Retrofit Training (BRT) Level 1 calendar has been set for 2018 so that attendees can register for the date that best suits them! The first BRT is scheduled for January 23^rd in Abu Dhabi; the second BRT session is set for 8^th February 2018 in Dubai. Please visit the BRT calender page for 2018 upcoming dates.

Visit our Meet the Facilitators page for a chance to learn more about our expert facilitators.

The BRT Programme is in partnership with the Dubai Supreme Council of Energy and Masdar (Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company) and is designed to teach the fundamentals of building retrofit.

This month we encourage you to improve your lifestyle not just for today but for 2018.  We encourage you to adopt one EmiratesGBC Green Building LifestyleTooltip per month– Let’s keep it simple and “drink out of glass containers”; we think it taste’s better anyway.

The EmiratesGBC Green Building Tooltips is a rich online platform serving to further educate the industry and community on simple green building practices.   The interactive designs cover three different building typologies, showcasing a home, school and office building.  The initiative is powered by BASF and Legrand, EmiratesGBC board members underlining their commitment to promoting sustainability.

We strongly urge you to visit the Green Building Tooltips on our website to test out this valuable online tool and fulfil your goal of pursuing a greener lifestyle whether it be at home, school or at the office.

Congratulations to Caparol Paints; EmiratesGBC’s long term member and supporter, for their most recent achievement. Caparol has received the approval from Dubai Civil Defence (DCD) to start implementing the Exterior Thermal Insulation and Finish System (EIFS) / External Thermal Insulation Composite System (ETICS).  Caparol has now become the first German company to receive the approval for complete compliance with the new UAE Fire Code.   You can read more about this win here.

On 12 December 2017, a Technical Workshop facilitated by Summertown Interiors, a corporate member of EmiratesGBC, discussed a holistic approach of meeting sustainability in the workplace. The workshop elaborated that sustainability does not necessarily have to involve added costs and can be incorporated into business operations so that benefits can be achieved on an environmental, economic and corporate level. Sustainable business practice should be part of every business, big or small, and should be an on-going process and holistic to include all stakeholders; from employees to clients. Embedding this practice can deliver the needs of the clients as well as minimize environmental impact, deliver cost savings, and maximize employees’ sense of wellbeing and happiness.

The first Technical Workshop of 2018 will take place on January 23^rd and will look at the pros and cons of Sustainable Modular Building Solutions. Modular construction becoming quickly adopted due to the imminent need for more sustainable building solutions. Attendees will be shown a global overview of the current state of modular design and construction technique and highlight the opportunities, benefits and challenges of this innovative construction technique.

Are you an EmiratesGBC member or partner and would like to facilitate a workshop? We are open to suggestions for 2018 and if you have any suggestions for topics to be addressed, we’d like to hear from you – email us at technicalworkshops@emiratesgbc.org.

With 2018 being marked as Year of Zayed, the Founding Father of the UAE, it is important to look at how we how cities should be designed with a vision of the future. Therefore this month we will look at the report by Arup, a member of EmiratesGBC, Cities Alive – Designing for urban childhoods, which proposes a child-friendly approach to urban planning. The report highlights why and how city stakeholders should start to create child-friendly urban environments and sets out the five core challenges of urban childhoods and recommends actions and opportunities for city stakeholders, including policymakers and city leaders, developers and investors, and built environment professionals, and considers how progress might be measured.

Click here to read the report.

The Green Key Team at EmiratesGBC is gearing up for 2018 to be our strongest year yet. We are closing 2017 with 32 certified hotels and look forward to growing that number up to 50 in 2018. The new year is always a busy time with re-certifications, so if you are a Green Key hotel with an upcoming submittal period, keep an eye on your inbox for more information. Email greenkey@emiratesgbc.org to learn more.

To support UAE hotel properties in reducing their carbon footprint by improving water and energy performances, waste management, education and awareness, Emirates Green Building Council is now offering Green Hospitality Training.

Training modules have been developed in a format that can be tailored to assist any level of the hotel staff, addressing general facts on green hospitality for those less informed, while covering more technical aspects that can support engineering departments and technical staff. The training can also support UAE tourism authorities and professionals for implementation of best practices.  Selection of training modules include: Water Management, Energy Management, Green Procurement, Waste Management, Indoor Air Quality, Sustainable Food and Beverage, Green Housekeeping Practices, and Community Development & CSR.

Hotel groups or properties interested in some or all of the available training modules should contact the EmiratesGBC office for more details.

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.

Click here to learn more about how the Technical Guidelines for Retrofitting Existing Buildings can potentially save your facility and/or home millions in utility bills and reduced operational costs.  Copies are available in both English and Arabic for purchase at the EmiratesGBC office.

EmiratesGBC also offers a free copy of the Technical Guidelines, as part of your registration and participation in the Building Retrofit Training Workshop. For more details, please click here to complete registration.