We are pleased to invite Hotels, Shopping Malls and Schools in Dubai to participate in the EmiratesGBC Energy Benchmarking Project carried out in a partnership with Dubai Supreme Council of Energy, a project supporting Dubai’s participation in the Building Efficiency Accelerator (BEA). Dubai is the only city in the Middle East that has committed to the Building Efficiency Accelerator, a global initiative under the United Nations program Sustainable Energy for All.

Under this initiative, we will benchmark at least 100 buildings in three focus groups (Hotels, Schools and Shopping Malls). All participants will receive tailored scorecards to assess their performance metrics against the city average. Learn more about the Benchmarking Project here and in the FAQs. To participate in this project, contact the EmiratesGBC office at 04-3468244 or send an email with your interest to BEA@emiratesgbc.org.

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

We are pleased to welcome Majid Al Futtaim on board as a Platinum Sponsor of the 2018 Awards.

Sponsorship opportunities are still open, and we would like to invite you to join us by supporting this pivotal event through sponsorship.  There is an early bird discount on sponsorship packages available until 1 March 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.

Endorsed by WorldGBC and in partnership with MENA Green Building Councils: Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Morocco and Palestine, we are looking forward to another successful event.  The application period has now closed and submissions are under review. We would like to thank all organisations that applied.

Applications have closed, but there is still time to register to attend the Gala Dinner and Awards Ceremony taking place on 9 May!  Click here to reserve your seat or book a table and be the first to hear the award winners announced.

Thank you to all the students who applied for the 2018 Student Excellence Award – your submissions are currently under review.

Don’t forget, the winner has the chance of being awarded a cash prize and will be announced alongside the Professional Awards during the Awards Ceremony and Gala Dinner in Dubai on May 9^th, 2018.  Good Luck!

The Student Excellence Award, sponsored by EmiratesGBC Co-Founder Dr. Sadek Owainati, targets 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.

Recommendations for transforming UAE’s schools into sustainable environments are highlighted in the ‘State of Our Schools’ whitepaper authored by EmiratesGBC following a roundtable of the Emirates Coalition for Green Schools, a national initiative launched by EmiratesGBC and aligned with the Global Coalition for Green Schools.  The white paper is supported by the Dubai Supreme Council of Energy, Taqati and Etihad Energy Services. Findings highlight that with 1,316 schools in the UAE and over a million students enrolled, the nation has significant potential to achieve green schools by educating and influencing the future advocators of sustainability – the students.  Click here to download the report.

The Building Retrofit Training (BRT) Level 1 calendar has been set for 2018 so that attendees can register for the date that suits them best! The next BRT course will be held on 17^th April in Abu Dhabi. Please visit the BRT calendar page for upcoming dates and register your interest.

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 with emphasis on Audits, HVAC, Envelope, Air Quality, Solar PV/T, Water, Waste, and Management.

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

We would like to remind all EmiratesGBC members that their annual membership is due for renewal.  In order to avoid a gap in membership, we would like to encourage members to renew their membership and make their final payment by 15 March 2018.

Please contact membership@emiratesgbc.org with any questions or clarifications required.

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.

This month’s tip:  When stuck in traffic or stopped at an intersection, “Switch your gear to neutral.  Car idling can waste 1.5 litres of fuel per hour of idling”;  it also offers you some quality time to reflect on how you just reduced consumption and saved some money on fuel.

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.

February’s workshop was a hot topic and standing room only as we discussed building insulation fire certification.  Complimenting the topic was a discussion on material selection alternatives, including the sustainability advantages of ETICS systems.  During the workshop, steps to achieving approvals under the latest Dubai Civil Defence Fire & Safety Code was explained and participants provided input with the current challenges being faced in the market.

As a next step, EmiratesGBC will be compiling your comments and sharing feedback to concerned stakeholders, so be sure to send in a summary of your views on the topic to technicalworkshops@emiratesgbc.org.

Stay tuned for more information regarding this and the workshop brief!

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

February’s workshop will tackle a hot topic on building insulation fire certification. The facilitator will explain the sustainability advantages of the ETICS and the challenges they faced before achieving the latest Dubai Civil Defence Fire Code. Stay tuned for more information on the announcement and participation details.

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.

This month we look at the recently published Clean Energy Business Council’s white paper, Energy Efficiency in the GCC: Status and Outlook, which focuses on the GCC buildings, industrial, and transportation sectors, presenting an overview of energy efficiency developments, as well as some recommendations for businesses and policy-makers. The white paper highlighted that buildings consume 6% of the GCC’s total final energy consumption and 27% of its electricity but progress is being made to increase the energy efficiency of governmental and private sector buildings to protect against rising energy costs. A number of recommendations were outlined, which included energy reporting with the purpose of evaluating and reducing consumption levels.

Click here to read the white paper.

Did you know that Emirates Green Building Council is the national operator of Green Key in the UAE? By the end of 2018 we expect to have nearly 50 Green Key certified properties across the country. The first quarter of the year is always our busiest time with new certifications and renewals, and  we’re excited to be growing the program in UAE.  If you would like to learn more, please drop us a note at or visit the international website here.

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.

Emirates Green Building Council (EmiratesGBC) has called for eco-literacy among students and the promotion of public private partnerships (PPPs) to drive green strategy in UAE’s schools.

The recommendations for transforming UAE schools into sustainable environments are highlighted in the State of Our Schools white paper authored by EmiratesGBC following a roundtable of the Emirates Coalition for Green Schools, a national initiative launched by EmiratesGBC aligned with the Global Coalition for Green Schools.

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The Emirates Green Building Council (EmiratesGBC) has called for strengthening eco-literacy among students and promoting public-private partnerships (PPPs) for achieving a ‘green’ transformation of UAE’s schools, the organisation said in a Press communiqué.

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It is important that GCC countries deal with the effects of changing environmental conditions.

ABU DHABI – In what is likely to be a blueprint for desert regions across the globe, Abu Dhabi unveiled the world’s largest man-made desalinated water reserve in the desert at Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week.

The event brought the world’s sustainability community together to learn about the major social, economic and environmental trends shaping global development. It took place with the overarching theme of “Driving the Global Energy Transformation.” Three core topics were the focus of discussions: climate change and resource scarcity, sustainable cities and urbanisation and technology disruption and digitisation.

Saeed al-Abbar, chairman of Dubai-based Emirates Green Building Council (EmiratesGBC), stressed the industry’s “clear shift of focus to a growing market of renewables and energy and water retrofits.”

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The endeavour will contribute to enhanced health and productivity among students.

DUBAI – A concerted move has begun in Dubai to create awareness about the long-term benefits of “green schools” in the United Arab Emirates. The endeavour will contribute to enhanced health and productivity among students, decreased absenteeism and improve the value of school buildings, officials and advocates said.

The Emirates Green Building Council (EmiratesGBC) hosted a discussion with environmental groups, energy service companies, educators and private and public sector stakeholders to create a national vision for establishing healthy, high-performance schools conducive to learning while saving energy, resources and money.

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Over $85bn worth of building contracts were handed out across the GCC last year, and with a yearly increase of 7% that upward trend should continue through 2018. There can be no doubt that the Middle East is one one of the key regions, globally, for the construction industry.

One of the region’s specialist consulting and commissioning firms, AESG, has been a major beneficiary of the GCC building boom, with the company doubling in size over the course of the last calendar year. Some organisations struggle with that scope of change, but AESG seems to have taken the growth in its stride. However, Managing Director Saeed Al Abbar insists that the company isn’t “growing for growth’s sake”, and that growth has been a by-product of success rather than a goal in and of itself.   Read more