EmiratesGBC is pleased to announce that this year’s Annual Congress will be held under the patronage of the Ministry of Climate Change & Environment. We are honoured to have their support for the event which will explore progress in the Net Zero Building movement and how this can be scaled up to create sustainable cities in line with UAE vision 2021 and the objectives of the Paris COP21 Climate Agreement.

This will be the first event in the region to focus solely on this topic and reflects the industry leading position EmiratesGBC has adopted as a center of excellence for net-zero buildings. We will bring together international experts alongside regional and national stakeholders to drive forward the conversation and discuss the role of net zero in sustainable built environments.

Registration for the Congress is now open: click here to secure your seat at this flagship event.

We would like to invite you to become a strategic supporter of the Annual EmiratesGBC Congress through sponsorship. A  number of opportunities are available to organisations with an early bird discount applicable before the 15^th August 2018.

To learn more about the sponsorship packages, click here or contact engagement@emiratesgbc.org.

We are pleased to announce that the data collection phase is complete. Thank you to all the participating hotels, schools and shopping malls! We have begun the data verification and analysis phases and looking forward to sharing the findings of our study by the end of 2018.

The Benchmarking Project is being carried out in a partnership with Dubai Supreme Council of Energy, a project supporting the City of Dubai’s participation in the Building Efficiency Accelerator (BEA). Dubai is the only city in the Middle East that has committed to the BEA, a global initiative under the United Nations program Sustainable Energy for All. Learn more about the Benchmarking Project here and in the FAQs.

If you have any questions, please contact the EmiratesGBC office at 04-3468244 or send an email with your interest to BEA@emiratesgbc.org.

BEA Sponsorship opportunities have been updated to accommodate companies interested in supporting this pivotal project.  We invite you to learn more by clicking here or contacting engagement@emiratesgbc.org. Sponsorship will support the analysis and reporting of the project as well as the development of an online platform, thus supporting further expansion of the benchmarking program.

Earlier this year Emirates Coalition for Green Schools launched the pioneering white paper, ‘State of Our Schools’ which provided a definition of green schools in the UAE and provided an overview of the current state of UAE schools in the context of this definition. The paper set out the coalition’s vision is to ensure that every child in the UAE learns in a green school within this generation.

As the national platform for the advocacy of Green Schools in the UAE, the coalition will once again bring together stakeholders in a Roundtable event to be held in November focusing on Indoor Air Quality of Schools in the UAE. The roundtable will be followed by a whitepaper which will explore the factors influencing IAQ in schools, the impact on students and potential solutions for improving IAQ.

We invite members and partners to join the Emirates Coalition for Green Schools as official members and contribute to this important discussion.  To find out more or to register your interest in the event please contact lynsey.crerar@emiratesgbc.org.  Companies can also contribute through sponsorship, please email engagement@emiratesgbc.org or find out more here.

Each month we showcase a winner from the 2018 MENA Green Building Awards. This month we congratulate the winner of Sustainable Urban Community Development Design of the Year which rewards the green design and development at the urban community level to projects in planning or under construction within in the MENA region.

Winner: Reem Downtown by Arup

Reem Downtown’s key achievements included:

• Changing attitudes towards sustainability objectives and ambitions through extensive stakeholder engagement
• Leveraging environmental assets to enhance the design of the public realm and quality of life for the community
• Challenging business as usual thinking to enhance the physical and mental wellbeing of the community

Congratulations to be extended to the shortlisted applicants in this category also: Yas Acres by Aldar Properties.

To find out more about this year’s awards and category winners, take a look at the post-event press release.  #MENAGBAwards

The Green Affordable Homes project, a Jordan Green Building Council project, in cooperation with Habitat for Humanity as part of The Moving Energy Initiative, living in a green home which provides its inhabitants with healthy indoor environmental quality and a reduction in energy and water consumption to lower living costs is a human for all – regardless of income or social status.

This initiative aims to increase access to sustainable affordable housing in low-income and refugee areas in Jordan. In 2017, the project supported the construction of three affordable homes and retrofitting 48 existing buildings.  We salute JordanGBC’s efforts for achieving this ambitious feat with more retrofit projects in the horizon.

The council is also expecting to build five new green affordable homes and retrofit 40 existing homes in 2018.

Watch this video to learn more about this important initiative.

The Sustainable City, the Middle East’s first fully-operational sustainable community, has become the first gated community in the region to release its Greenhouse Gas (GHG) inventory. The initiative is part of The Sustainable City’s strategic collaboration with Emirates Wildlife Society in association with WWF(EWS-WWF).

Read the full story here.

Adeeb Group has achieved the Facilities Management project of ADNOC’s Prestigious Towers consisting of five buildings in the Sheikh Khalifa Energy Complex(SKEC).

As being the Capital’s Iconic landmark of Government Sector, the contract is equipped with skilled Service Delivery Manager, HVAC & Mechanical Engineers and Technicians for this specialised project and the combined knowledge of all these specialists is integrated to execute this prestigious FM project successfully.
The Sheikh Khalifa Energy Complex- 1 comprises of 4 high rise office towers namely GASCO, TAKREER, ZADCO and BOROUGE Tower and 8 levels of common car park area which is located near Corniche area.

Well done to our members for their achievements.  To find out more about the details of this win,  please click here.

At the 2nd Annual National Treasure Conference, Taka Solutions walked away with the award for Sustainable SME of the Year!

Under the patronage of His Excellency Sheikh Nahyan Bin Mubarak, The Cabinet Minister of Tolerance & President of UAE Genetic Disease Association, the second edition of the Annual National Treasure Conference brought together like-minded business leaders, influencers and entrepreneurs with the objective of “Building a sustainable business with eyes on the future – today”

During the Business Excellence Awards Ceremony, Taka Solutions was announced as the Sustainable SME of the Year. A warm congratulations to Taka Solutions

Read the full story here

Registration is open for the next Level 1 Building Retrofit Training (BRT) courses taking place on 6^th September in Dubai and 25^th September in Abu Dhabi.  This introductory course is led by expert facilitators and is designed to teach the fundamentals of building retrofit and is suitable for primarily nontechnical participants and would be suitable for building owners, operators and end users.

Please visit the BRT webpage to register for your place in the upcoming courses.

Hear what some of our previous participants had to say about the course:

‘The BRT course was perfect for me to further understand retrofitting requirements that are in line with The Emirates Green Building Council guidelines, as I plan to be renovating a hotel in the near future’

‘I have learned about aspects of design and maintenance, that impact efficiency in a positive way, as well as minimize the impact on the environment’

The BRT Program is in partnership with Dubai Supreme Council of Energy and Masdar (Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company).

The BRT Level 2 (Advanced) course is almost ready to be launched and new course dates will be announced during August. The Level 2 course will be an advanced course recommended for industry professionals looking to build their capacity and technical knowledge on retrofit in the region. The two-day workshop will be followed by an examination.

To register your interest in attending the level two course please contact events@emiratesgbc.org

EmiratesGBC is proud to be an official supporter of the 2018 Solar Decathlon Middle East competition.  The competition is a partnership between the Dubai Supreme Council of Energy (DSCE), Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) and with the US Department of Energy. The competition sees university team design, build and operate sustainable, cost and energy efficient models of solar-powered homes which take into account climate considerations in the region.

In celebration of the collaboration, DEWA and EmiratesGBC held a seminar on 23rd July inviting members, partner and stakeholders of the competition to meet the UAE teams and learn more about the competition. EmiratesGBC Chairman, Saeed Al Abbar, gave a keynote address and highlighted the importance of net-zero energy buildings in meeting the sustainability objectives of the UAE. The seminar also included a panel discussion on accelerating net-zero living through the SDME.

To learn more about how you can get involved in the SDME competition through sponsorship of teams or visiting the SDME 2018 please visit the SDME website.

We encourage you to improve your lifestyle, not just for today but for all of 2018, by adopting an EmiratesGBC Green Building Tooltips.

This month’s tip focuses on water.  Use efficient water fixtures only. Repair all faucet leaks, even if they seem minor, as this can potentially waste hundreds of liters annually.

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 home, school, and office buildings.  The initiative is powered by BASF and Legrand, EmiratesGBC board members underlining their commitment to promoting sustainability, and is supported by Taqati whose mission is tied to achieving Dubai’s sustainability goals.

We urge you to visit the Green Building Tooltips on our website to test out this valuable tool and pursue a greener lifestyle whether it be at home, school or the office.

July’s Technical Workshop on the International Future Living Institutes’ Living Building Challenge (LBC) gave an overview of the certification and discussed the seven “Petals” and the 20 Imperatives under them that must be met by any project wishing to pursue the LBC. The need for decarbonisation is a requirement that must be met by every sector, especially the built environment. The LBC, however, aims to not only decarbonise but also positively impact both the environment and people. They act as regenerative spaces that connect occupants to light, air, food, nature, and community.  To read the brief, click here.

August’s Technical workshop will take place on August 7^th and explore how WELL features can be incorporated into a project’s design, procurement and all the way through to operation. This will be done using the case study of Cundall’s new London office at One Carter Lane – the first building in the UK and Europe to achieve WELL Certification through the WELL Building Standard™ (WELL) and the local application of the WELL Building Standard for Cundall’s GCC new offices.

Are you an EmiratesGBC member or partner and would like to facilitate a technical workshop? We are open for suggestions.  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.

Get inspired by reading our technical briefs from past monthly workshops by visiting the EmiratesGBC website here.

This month we look at the report by the Net-Zero Energy Coalition, To Zero and Beyond, which shows 2017 inventory of residential projects on the path to zero in the U.S. and Canada. The report highlights that California has the largest concentration of net-zero homes in the country with 5,279 of the 13,906 net-zero residential units in North America being located there. Other findings include that projects of two or more units (both single- and multifamily) dominate Zero Energy (ZE) activity across the US and Canada; they represented 94% of all ZE units in 2015, 95% in 2016, and once again totaled 94% in 2017.

Click here to read the report.

Every year,  Green Key International runs a best practice competition among its certified sites to award the Sustainability Champion of the year. The topic for this year’s competition is Informing and Engaging Guests in Sustainability.

We encourage all UAE Green Key certified properties to apply and showcase their sustainability initiatives! Make sure to apply before August 15.

The winner will receive the “Green Key Sustainability Champion Plaque” and will be featured on the Best Practice Competition website. Click here to learn more about last years’ winners.

Learn more about the competition and how to apply 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.

Event to be held under the patronage of the Ministry of Climate Change & Environment; has sub-themes that focus on the values that mark the Year of Zayed, official says

Emirates Green Building Council (EmiratesGBC), will mark a regional first with an in-depth discussion on scaling up the Net Zero Energy Building movement to create net zero cities, at its seventh annual Congress, the organisation said in a Press communiqué. The Congress will be held under the theme ‘Targeting Zero: A Vision for Future Cities’, on October 9, 2018, at the Pullman Dubai Creek City Centre hotel, the communiqué said.

The event is being held for the second consecutive year under the patronage of the UAE Ministry of Climate Change & Environment, mandated to promote advancements toward a Green Economy in the United Arab Emirates, the communiqué said. The Annual EmiratesGBC Congress brings together international experts to discuss strategies for promoting sustainable built environments for the cities of the future, in line with UAE Vision 2021 and the objectives of the Paris COP21 Climate Agreement, the communiqué further said. The event aims to influence sustainable practices in the UAE’s built environment, help identify key industry challenges and solutions as well as catalyse innovation in green building practices, to create new models that support the country’s efforts to be more sustainable, the communiqué added.

Read more and here

With a realistic target in place, UAE’s real estate sector is being encouraged to be part of advancing the country’s net zero building efforts

EmiratesGBC has encouraged the real estate sector and facilities management (FM) companies to adhere to UAE’s goals in advancing net zero buildings.

Saeed Al Abbar, chairman, EmiratesGBC addressed the second World Workplace Forum in Dubai where he also encouraged professionals and private entities to be part of its efforts to spread the message of sustainable building and maintenance practices.

Al Abbar said: “The current benchmarks for buildings [in Dubai] is around the 250 to 300 [KwH per m2], but we have set a target of 90kwH. And we will revise it, and possibly in two years it could be 70KwH per m2. We want to get it down to where we will be in a position to match global objectives.” He also said that EmiratesGBC is looking to set strict targets while ensuring they are realistic and achievable. “There is no point in having 99.9% of non-achievable targets,” Al Abbar said to fmME at the forum.

Read more

18 university teams from 13 countries competing at Solar Decathlon Middle East as emirate aims to provide 75% of its total power output from clean energy by 2050

Dubai is set to host two rounds of a global competition among top universities involved in renewable energy to promote “net zero-energy buildings”, giving the emirate’s renewable energy drive an added push.

Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA), in collaboration with the Emirates Green Building Council (EmiratesGBC), has organised the Solar Decathlon Middle East Seminar on Tuesday.

The seminar emphasised the importance of net zero-energy buildings (NZEB), also known as zero-energy buildings.

Read more

Jobs, water, food and energy must be found for the 120,000 people in Asia moving to cities every day. Experts at a recent urban environment event in the United Kingdom discussed the challenges of Asia’s urban crunch.

Speaking at the World Built Environment Forum (WBEF) in London in April, Saeed Al Abbar, chairman of Emirates Green Building Council, said that he was “not convinced that the rate of new job growth was going to replace old jobs lost”. Saeed was speaking in a panel called Cities in the Changing Ecosystems of Industry and Commerce which was focussing on economic realignments that were occurring across the globe.

Urban unemployment is one of the many challenges that Asia’s cities are facing as growing populations and mass migration expand city populations by an additional 900,000 people every week.

Read more